title: [Large diversity of routine methods used for monitoring human cytomegalovirus infections in France].
abstract: Monitoring cytomegalovirus circulating viral load is an important parameter of the follow-up in immunocompromised patients. It can be measured either by DNAemia or by pp65 antigenemia. The French national reference center for cytomegaloviruses organized an investigation of practice in 37 teacher hospital virology laboratories to assess the situation in France in 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was sent to collect following information: method used in routine for monitoring of circulating viral load of CMV, assay used, sample matrix and extraction method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-six over thirty-seven laboratories filled the questionnaire. Among these, 67% used the quantitative PCR in routine, 11% antigenemia and 22% antigenemia or quantitative PCR; 87% of the laboratories use whole blood for quantitative PCR, whereas 10% and 3% use plasma and leukocytes respectively. Among the laboratories using DNAemia, 100% used real-time PCR assays, 91% use an automated extraction and 9% a manual extraction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thus in France, measurement of DNAemia by real-time PCR is a tool, which gradually replaces the antigenemia for the monitoring of cytomegalovirus infection among immunocompromised patients. The very great diversity of the methods used justifies the installation of a national quality control on total blood, matrix used by 87% of the laboratories.
authors: Service de bactériologie-virologie-hygiène, Centre national de référence des cytomégalovirus, laboratoire de virologie, CHU Limoges, 2 avenue Martin Luther King, Limoges, France.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Mhiri
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Boyer
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Goudard
authors: M C
authors: MC
authors: Mazeron
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Leruez-Ville
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Slim
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Alain
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000097:blood; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019562:Viral Load / Q000379:methods*; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000097:blood; D014766:Viremia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins; C065418:cytomegalovirus matrix protein 65kDa