Diagnosis of cytomegalovirus pneumonia by the polymerase chain reaction with archived frozen lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.

The authors developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure to detect cytomegalovirus (CMV) in archived, frozen lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid preparations. The procedure incorporated an internal beta-globin control to assess the adequacy of the sample. Twenty-nine lung tissue and 96 archived BAL specimens from marrow transplant recipients were tested. One of the lung tissue specimens and 46 of the BAL specimens had insufficient tissue for PCR analysis because they did not show a beta-globin band. In lung tissue, the PCR had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 89% compared with conventional tube culture. In BAL specimens, the PCR had a sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 90% compared with conventional tube culture or centrifugation culture. Provided tissue was sufficient, the results suggest that the PCR can be used to diagnose CMV interstitial pneumonia effectively from frozen specimens of lung tissue or BAL fluid.