Clinical significance of molecular-genetic and serologic surveys for diagnosing infectious mononucleosis
The study included 94 patients, of them in 59 infectious mononucleosis was confirmed. The dynamics of serologic markers of EBV infection was studied (anti-EBV VCA IgM, anti-EBV VCA IgG, anti-EBV EA IgG, anti-EBV EBNA IgG) in patients with infectious mononucleosis at various stages of disease and compared with the results of the EBV DNA test in blood of patients using the polymerase chain reaction technique. In the acute period of infectious mononucleosis, detection of EBV DNA in blood by PCR permits to confirm the diagnosis in 100% of patients, whereas the Hoff-Bauer reaction yields a positive result only in 80% of cases. In 1/3 of patients with a history of acute infectious mononucleosis active replication of EBV persists for a long time (not less than 2 years), which necessitates a more prolonged follow-up of such patients by infectionists.