Evaluation of the CMV-vue antigenemia assay for rapid detection of cytomegalovirus in peripheral blood leukocytes.

In this study, a commercial kit (CMV-vue) for direct detection of a structural cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigen (pp65) in peripheral blood leukocytes was evaluated. A total of 164 blood specimens were studied prospectively and in parallel, comparing the CMV-vue kit against conventional and shell-vial cultures. A total of 32 specimens were positive by either of the two culture methods. Of the specimens, 27 (84.4%) were also positive for CMV-vue. In addition, 16 specimens were positive only by CMV-vue; six of these specimens were from patients with subsequent or concomitant CMV viremia. No positive CMV-vue test results were found in the eight control specimens. CMV-vue assay is a sensitive method for detecting CMV in blood specimens. The test could be applied in laboratories without cell culture facilities, but skilled technicians are required to avoid false readings due to background staining.