Lung Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Lung Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Quantification of Epstein-Barr virus-DNA load in lung transplant recipients: a comparison of plasma versus whole blood.

Bakker NA, Verschuuren EA, Veeger NJ, van der Bij W, van Imhoff GW, Kallenberg CG, Hepkema BG

Department of Hematology, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. n.a.bakker@int.umcg.nl

BACKGROUND: Monitoring of the Epstein-Barr virus-DNA load is frequently used to identify patients at risk for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). Epstein-Barr virus DNA can be measured in the plasma and whole blood serum compartments. METHODS: We compared levels of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in whole blood and plasma using a real-time TaqMan polymerase chain reaction assay in 100 consecutive paired whole blood and plasma samples from 25 lung and heart-lung transplant recipients with detectable whole blood Epstein-Barr virus-DNA load (>2,000 copies/ml). RESULTS: A correlation (r2) of 0.58 (p < 0.001) was observed between both measurements, whereas of the positive whole blood samples (>2,000 copies/ml), only 17 samples (18%) were also positive in plasma. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that by virtue of its sensitivity, whole blood rather than plasma may be the preferable specimen for the detection of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in lung transplant recipients.

Published 11 January 2008 in J Heart Lung Transplant, 27(1): 7-10.
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