Comparative recovery of cytomegalovirus from saliva, mucolysed induced sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients at risk for or with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

The recovery rates of cytomegalovirus from mucolysed induced sputum samples and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained from individuals at risk for or with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were compared. It was demonstrated that cytomegalovirus could be reliably recovered from mucolysed induced sputum, and such recovery was highly predictive of recovery from bronchoalveolar lavage samples obtained from the same individual.