COMPARISON OF 2 METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS

Heparinized blood or bone marrow specimens were processed by the Plasm agel (Cellular Products, Inc, Buffalo, NY) and simple gravity sediment ation (SGS) methods and compared for the detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) for a 10-month period. Fifteen (8.6%) of 174 specimens were posi tive for CMV. Three specimens were positive with both the Plasmagel an d SGS methods, 11 specimens were positive with the Plasmagel method on ly, and 1 specimen was positive with the SGS method only. The Plasmage l method yielded a significantly higher rate (P<.01) of CMV detection than the SGS method. The Plasmagel method cost 12 cents more per speci men and was accomplished in 75 minutes, whereas the SGS method require d an overnight incubation.