The role of an immunoperoxidase technique in the diagnosis of oral herpes simplex virus infection in patients with leukemia.

Laboratory techniques are often used to confirm a clinical diagnosis of oral herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in patients with leukemia. In the present study, an immunoperoxidase technique (IPT) was used to examine smears taken from the oral mucosa of 44 patients with leukemia at Vancouver General Hospital. It was found that the IPT was as sensitive and specific as viral culture in confirming the presence of HSV. The IPT was found to be more predictive of symptomatic oral HSV disease than viral culture because it did not give positive results if there was only viral shedding in the absence of clinical disease. As the IPT is rapid and inexpensive as well as being specific, sensitive, and predictive, it has a definite role in the laboratory confirmation of oral HSV lesions in leukemics.