EVALUATION OF THE CMV-VUE ANTIGENEMIA ASSAY FOR RAPID DETECTION OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS IN PERIPHERAL-BLOOD LEUKOCYTES

In this study, a commercial kit (CMV-vue) for direct detection of a st ructural cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigen (pp65) in peripheral blood leuk ocytes was evaluated. A total of 164 blood specimens were studied pros pectively and in parallel, comparing the CMV-vue kit against conventio nal and shell-vial cultures. A total of 32 specimens were positive by either of the two culture methods. Of the specimens, 27 (84.4%) were a lso positive for CMV-vue, In addition, 16 specimens were positive only by CMV-vue; six of these specimens were from patients with subsequent or concomitant CMV viremia. No positive CMV-vue test results were fou nd in the eight control specimens. CMV-vue assay is a sensitive method for detecting CMV in blood specimens. The test could be applied in la boratories without cell culture facilities, but skilled technicians ar e required to avoid false readings due to background staining.