Comparison of a latex agglutination test with five other methods for determining the presence of antibody against cytomegalovirus.

A latex agglutination test for determination of antibody against cytomegalovirus was compared with five other methods: a solid-phase fluorescent immunoassay, an indirect hemagglutination test, two solid-phase enzyme immunoassays, and an indirect fluorescent-antibody method, with sera collected from 210 random blood donors. Of the sera tested, 28% were positive for anti-cytomegalovirus by concordance of four or more methods. The latex agglutination test performed well, with a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 99%, and positive and negative predictive values of 97 and 100%, respectively. The methods were also evaluated for the number of sera requiring repeat testing, equivocal results after retesting, ease of performance, turnaround time, and technical demands. The tests which best met the requirements for a screening test were the solid-phase fluorescent immunoassay, the indirect hemagglutination test, and the latex agglutination test. The latex agglutination test is a valuable screening tool for detecting total anti-cytomegalovirus which has high sensitivity, high negative predictive value, and rare equivocal results and also has the added advantages of ease of performance and rapid turnaround time.