Extract

Background and aim of the study: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) may represent a sequela of acute or chronic myocarditis, either due to persistence of an infectious agent (usually a virus) or secondary autoimmune myocardial injury. Accurate virological analysis of endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) specimens in patients with DCM is thus of crucial importance. Therefore, we aimed to compare the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses targeted to detect genomes of selected cardiotropic viruses in EMB specimens that were performed in 2 microbiological laboratories

Methods: In 20 consecutive patients (52±12 years, 14 men) with recently diagnosed unexplained DCM (left ventricular ejection fraction 27±7%), EMB specimens were independently studied in 2 different microbiological laboratories (A and B) by using qualitative PCR that was focused on the detection of genomes of parvovirus B19 (PVB19) and herpesviruses including human herpesvirus type 6 (HHV6), human cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV 1 and 2). Complete agreement between the laboratories was defined as detection of the same viral genomes or their complete absence by both laboratories; partial agreement was defined as detection of any of multiple viral genomes by one lab but not the other; all other scenarios were considered disagreement.

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