Comparison the Diagnostic Value of Culture and Polymerase Chain Reaction Methods in Diagnosis of Cytomegalovirus Infections in Spontaneous Abortions

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most common viral infection during pregnancy. Current recognition methods are including culture، PCR and ELISA. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic value of culture and PCR in cytomegalovirus infection in spontaneous abortion. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 110 women with unintentional abortion who referred to educational hospitals of Tehran university of medical sciences during 2011 and 2012. For culturing، 15cc of mother’s blood was decanted in citrated tubes. 5cc of Ficoll was added and centrifuged for 5 min at 5000 rpm. After separating the buffy coat layer، it was mixed with DMEM medium and inoculated into MRC-5. Cell inclusion was evaluated after 72 hours. Samples also were evaluated by PCR for presence of DNA of CMV. The results of two methods were analyzed using chi-square test. P value less than 0. 05 was considered significant. Of 110 women، 5 cases (4. 5%) were positive in cultures on MRC-5 cell line (Human lung fibroblast cells)، however، in PCR test، 6 cases (5. 4%) were positive. Sensitive and specificity of culture was 83. 3 and 100%، respectively، and both sensitivity and specificity of PCR were 100%. Culture on cell line is not probably adequate in diagnosis of infection and PCR and ELISA are essential for exact evaluation of infection. PCR could be an alternative of culture method.