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. 2007 May;45(5):1618-20.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.01405-06. Epub 2007 Feb 28.

Optimizing PCR positivity criterion for detection of herpes simplex virus DNA on skin and mucosa

Amalia S Magaret  1 , Anna Wald, Meei-Li Huang, Stacy Selke, Larry Corey
Affiliations

Optimizing PCR positivity criterion for detection of herpes simplex virus DNA on skin and mucosa

Amalia S Magaret et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2007 May.

Abstract

In 1997, we developed a PCR assay for the detection of herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA. Recently, we determined an optimal positivity criterion based on research specimens and a dilution study. We found that a cutoff of 50 HSV DNA copies/ml of swab specimen, a level 10-fold lower than our previous cutoff, minimizes misclassification.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Detection probabilities (quantity-specific sensitivity) of HSV-2-positive samples by HSV-2 concentration. The 95% confidence intervals are indicated with error bars, and the numbers of samples used to estimate sensitivity are shown below the horizontal axis.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Misclassification rates by shedding rate and cutoff for determination of positivity. Total bar height indicates overall misclassification, with shading distinguishing false negatives (neg.) and false positives (pos.).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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