title: Evaluation of the SmartCycler II system for real-time detection of viruses and Chlamydia from ocular specimens.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the SmartCycler II system (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, Calif) results with those of standard cell culture, to compare the SmartCycler II system results with those of a dedicated polymerase chain reaction facility, and to establish the SmartCycler II system as a polymerase chain reaction method for detecting viral and chlamydial DNA from ocular specimens.
  
  
  METHODS
  True-positive samples (test-positive specimens based on standard testing) and true-negative samples (test-negative specimens based on standard testing) were processed for polymerase chain reaction using the SmartCycler II system for adenovirus, herpes simplex virus type 1, varicella-zoster virus, and Chlamydia trachomatis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and efficiency were based on the testing of true-positive and true-negative specimens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The descriptive statistics for adenovirus, herpes simplex virus type 1, varicella-zoster virus, and C trachomatis were, respectively, as follows: sensitivity, 85%, 98%, 100%, and 94%; specificity, 98%, 100%, 100%, and 100%; positive predictive value, 98%, 100%, 100%, and 100%; negative predictive value, 85%, 91%, 100%, and 98%; and efficiency, 92%, 95%, 100%, and 99%. Test sensitivity for the SmartCycler II system was equivalent to that from a central molecular laboratory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The descriptive statistics of the SmartCycler II system obtained in a small laboratory were comparable to those of a central molecular laboratory for detecting viruses and Chlamydia species. Clinical Relevance Polymerase chain reaction has great potential in the routine diagnosis of ocular infections in any conventional laboratory.
authors.affiliation: Charles T. Campbell Ophthalmic Microbiology Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh Medical Eye Center, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Research Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Regis P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Kowalski
authors.forename: Paul P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Kinchington
authors.forename: Y Jerold
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Gordon
mesh_terms: D000260:Adenoviruses, Human / Q000235:genetics; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D015818:Eye Infections, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D015828:Eye Infections, Viral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014780:Viruses / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004279:DNA, Viral