Significance of nested PCR and quantitative real time PCR for cytomegalovirus detection in renal transplant recipients.

Immunocompromised renal transplant recipients are susceptible to severe cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection that makes its detection important in clinical practice. A total of 536 blood and 536 serum samples from 67 renal transplant recipients who had previously been diagnosed with terminal renal insufficiency were studied for CMV infection. In all samples, serology, shell vial culture, antigenaemia and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in blood and serum were tested, and a real-time quantitative PCR was run on 90 specimens. Sixty-seven blood donors were used as controls. The results show that the quantitative real-time PCR assay could be of great interest for predicting CMV disease, and to monitor the onset of pre-emptive therapy.