DIAGNOSIS AND INCIDENCE OF FETAL PARVOVIRUS INFECTION IN AN AUTOPSY SERIES .2. DNA AMPLIFICATION

This study evaluates the practical utility of the polymerase chain rea ction (PCR) as a diagnostic method for intrauterine fetal parvovirus i nfection in cases of hydrops fetalis. Paraffin-embedded, formalin-fixe d fetal tissues from cases of hydrops fetalis were assessed for parvov irus B19 by histology and PCR in conjunction with P-32 hybridization. Of 673 fetal and neonatal autopsies performed at Women and Infants' Ho spital for the years 1985 through 1990, 32 cases were determined to ha ve hydrops fetalis, of which five were positive for parvovirus infecti on by both histology and the PCR. PCR was not used in seven (22%) of t he 32 hydrops cases because 1 mug of DNA was not available for study. Histology was as sensitive as PCR in detecting parvovirus B19 in fetal autopsy tissues from cases of hydrops fetalis, and could be used reli ably in each case to diagnose parvovirus infection. In our hands, hist ology is as sensitive as PCR and less labor-intensive. We would reserv e PCR for cases without inclusions and with a strong suspicion of parv ovirus infection, or for fluids in which histological analysis is not available.