COMPARISON OF 2 COBAS CORE ENZYME IMMUNOASSAYS WITH OTHER TEST SYSTEMS FOR THE DETECTION OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS-SPECIFIC IGG AND IGM ANTIBODIES

The new Cobas Core CMV IGM and IgG enzyme immunoassays (Roche Diagnostic Systems, Bade, Switzerland) were evaluated for their ability to detect cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific IgM and IgG antibodies. Therefore, both were compared with some other commercially available and already established serological tests used in the laboratory diagnosis of CMV infection. These included the Abbott IMx CMV IgM and IgG assays, the Abbott CMV-M EIA, the Gull CMV IgM and IgG immunofluorescence tests, the medac CMV-ISM-ELA, and the Enzygnost anti-cytomegalovirus assay (Behringwerke). A total of 572 serum samples of various categories were examined and the results showed high concordances between all methods, ranging from 84.5% to 94.9%. In a follow-up on renal transplant patients, the times of first detection of seroconversions were compared. Since a high overall agreement between the Cobas Core CMV IgM and IgG enzyme immunoassays and the other test systems were observed, these new assays represent useful and reliable tools for clinical CMV diagnosis. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.