[Real-time PCR assay for detection and quantification of human adenoviruses in patients with haematological malignancies and symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection].

Human adenoviruses (HAdV) are one of the im-portant infectious etiological factors that affect immunocompromised patients. Because of the large number of HAdV serotypes and their genomic variations, they present a lot of difficulty in laboratory diagnostics. The recent introduction of real-time PCR (qPCR)-based assays has opened new ways to rapid, specific, and highly sensitive HAdV detection. For detection and quantification of HAdV DNA we retrospectively tested serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples obtained from a cohort of 60 adult patients with haematological malignancies presenting clinical and radiological symptoms of lower respiratory tract infections. Human adenoviruses DNA was detected by qPCR method, using primers targeting a conserved region of the adenoviral hexon gene and a specific TaqMan probe. Adenovirus infection occurred with a high incidence in our study group patients. Using qPCR we found that a 21,7% and 15,0% of patients had adenoviral DNA in BALF and serum samples, respectively. The high level of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy provided by real-time PCR assay are favorable for the use in the detection of adenoviral DNA in clinical specimens, especially in immunocompromised patients.