Correlation between pp65 antigenemia levels and copies of CMV DNA detected by quantitative TaqMan PCR of plasma.

(A) Banked plasma samples from a subset of 10 consecutive patients with antigenemia increases of greater than 5× baseline were tested for CMV DNA. Log-transformed quantities of the number of pp65 Ag staining cells and number of copies of CMV DNA per milliliter plasma are highly correlated (r = 0.69). (B) In two representative patients, the temporal rise and decline of CMV viral load as measured by pp65 antigenemia and CMV DNA are correlated. ▪ indicates pp65 Ag; ♦, PCR titer.