Rapid and Direct Detection of Herpes Simplex Virus in Cerebrospinal Fluid by Use of a Commercial Real-Time PCR Assay |
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| Authors: | Matthew J. Binnicker Mark J. Espy Cole L. Irish |
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| Affiliation: | Division of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA |
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| Abstract: | Central nervous system infection due to herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a medical emergency and requires rapid diagnosis and initiation of therapy. In this study, we compared a routine real-time PCR assay for HSV types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2) to a recently FDA-approved direct PCR assay (Simplexa HSV-1/2 Direct; Focus Diagnostics, Cypress, CA) using cerebrospinal fluid samples (n = 100). The Simplexa HSV-1/2 assays demonstrated a combined sensitivity and specificity of 96.2% (50/52) and 97.9% (47/48), respectively. In addition, the Simplexa assay does not require nucleic acid extraction, and the results are available in 60 min. |
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