[Cytomegalovirus infection after transplantation. Virological diagnosis, antiviral treatment].

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important cause of morbidity in organ transplant recipients with two major clinical effects: allograft rejection and pneumonitis. The issue of effective therapy has increased the need for accurate and rapid laboratory methods for diagnosis of viral infections. ELISA, as the most serological sensitive tests, are useful for the identification of active CMV infection, and the serological response can be sometimes detected before viral excretion.

Evaluation of an enzyme membrane immunoassay (Directigen RSV) for the rapid diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus infections.

A rapid enzyme immunoassay (EIA) membrane test, the Directigen respiratory syncytial virus (Becton Dickinson), was compared with cell culture, an indirect immunofluorescence (IF) test, the Monofluokit respiratory syncytial virus (Diagnostics Pasteur), and a conventional enzyme immunoassay antigen test, the Abbott respiratory syncytial virus enzyme immunoassay in nasal aspirates specimens from children with suspected respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis. The sensibility and specificity of the Directigen, respiratory syncytial virus were 91% and 98% respectively, as compared with those of culture, and of 93% and 86% as compared with the Monofluokit respiratory syncytial virus. In the comparison of the two enzyme immunoassays, Directigen respiratory syncytial virus detected more positive specimens: 68/127 than the other: 46/127.

[Virologic diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia].

Viral pneumonia is not very frequent in healthy adults; it is mostly observed in elderly subjects infected with an influenza virus, a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or an adenovirus (AdV). In immunocompromised subjects, cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common of causal agents. From the point of view of clinicians, virological diagnostic methods must be rapid and specific, and for this reason direct examination techniques for respiratory specimens and immunological detection of virus are currently being developed in virology laboratories.