Role of the cytomegalovirus (CMV)-antigenemia assay as a predictive and follow-up detection tool for CMV disease in AIDS patients

Forty-two patients were evaluated to determine the value of the CMV antigen emia (CMV-Ag) test as a follow-up marker as well as a prediction marker of CMV disease, Twenty patients were positive for at least one positive CMV-Ag assay and 9 of them developed CMV retinitis, With the threshold value (10 positive cells), sensitivity was 56% and specificity was 94%, The CMV-Ag as say, with the threshold value, produced high specificity, positive predicti ve value and negative predictive value but relatively poor sensitivity, Eig ht patients experienced CMV disease relapse a total of 16 times. At relapse , 8 of the 16 times showed negative for CMV-Ag assay; 7 underwent systemic maintenance while 1 underwent local maintenance. It is inferred that the CM V-Ag test is a poor follow-up marker to detect the relapse of CMV disease, particularly in patients undergoing systemic maintenance.