Performance of an in-house real-time PCR assay for detecting Cytomegalovirus infection among transplant patients from a tertiary care centre.

BACKGROUND

Quantitative Cytomegalovirus (CMV) polymerase chain reactions are increasingly being used for monitoring CMV DNAemia in haematopoietic stem cell transplants and solid organ transplants.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, a commercial CMV viral load assay was compared with an in-house viral load assay.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A total of 176 whole-blood samples were tested for CMV DNAemia using both assays.

RESULTS

Our evaluation showed a difference of 1 log10copies/ml between the two assay systems in determining CMV viral loads in the clinical samples.

CONCLUSION

The in-house viral load assay had a better correlation with clinical findings compared to the commercial assay. Quality assessment of these assays was done by the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Scheme (UKNEQAS), an external proficiency testing programme, and by the National Institute for Biological Standard and Control (NIBSC) standard. For UKNEQAS and NIBSC standards, the bias between the assays was 0.73 log10and 0.85 log10, respectively. This difference is well within the acceptable range already reported in the literature.