Comparison of detection rate, duration and cost of three PCR testing methods and virus culture
| DNA extraction | Virus precipitation | Virus culture | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | Automated | |||
| *True positive: specimens that had tested HSV positive in both virus culture and PCR, or if virus culture negative, positive in ⩾2 separate PCR assay and by ⩾2 methods. | ||||
| †Typed by direct immunofluorescence. | ||||
| Relative detection rate* | 61/72 (85%) | 62/72 (86%) | 65/72 (90%) | 42/72 (58%) |
| Duration (minutes or days): | ||||
| Specimen preparation | 90 | 120 | 60 | – |
| PCR | 81 | 101 | 81 | – |
| Total | 171 | 221 | 141 | 2–10 days |
| Reagent cost per test (£): | 3.99 | 9.27 | 2.44 | Negative sample: 1.00 Positive sample†: 1.55 |