[Serologic diagnosis of primary cytomegalovirus infections in patients following kidney transplantation using the indirect immunofluorescence technic and the complement-fixation test].

Sera of 22 recipients of kidney transplants with clinically and serologically (complement binding reaction) ascertained cytomegalovirus infection were retrospectively examined for virus-specific antibodies of the class IgM by means of the indirect immunofluorescence test. Already two to five days after the appearance of the adequate clinical symptoms (leucopenia, fever, T-lymphocytopenia, increase of creatinine and thrombocytopenia) CMV-IgM-antibodies could be proved. On average a positive complement binding reaction was found only two weeks later. In other 13 patients of the actual control programme the CMV-IgM-antibody findings first obtained were compared with the results of the complement fixing reaction obtained later. Neither falsely positive nor falsely negative results could be found.