Epstein-Barr virus qPCR testing on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from immunocompromised patients

Background

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is associated with lung disease in immunocompromised patients, particularly transplant recipients. EBV DNA testing of lower respiratory tract specimens may have diagnostic utility.

Methods

This was a retrospective, observational study of all patients with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids submitted for EBV qPCR testing from February 2016 to June 2022 at the Stanford Clinical Virology Laboratory.

Results

There were 140 patients that underwent 251 EBV qPCR BAL tests (median 1; range 1 – 10). These patients had a mean age of 15.9 years (standard deviation, 15.1 years) and 50 % were female. Transplant recipients accounted for 67.1 % (94/140) of patients, including 67.0 % (63/94) solid organ transplant (SOT) and 33.0 % (31/94) hematopoietic cell transplant. Diagnostic testing was performed more commonly than surveillance testing [57.0 % (143/251) v. 43.0 % (108/251)]; 96.2 % (104/108) of surveillance samples were from lung transplant recipients. Excluding internal control failures, 34.7 % (83/239) of BAL had detectable EBV DNA, encompassing a wide range of viral loads (median=3.03 log₁₀ IU/mL, range 1.44 to 6.06). Overall agreement of EBV DNA in BAL compared to plasma was 74.1 % [117/158; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 66.5 % to 80.7 %], with a kappa coefficient of 0.44 (95 % CI: 0.30 to 0.57). Only 20.1 % (48/239) of results were discussed in a subsequent clinical note, and one result (0.4 %; 1/239) changed clinical management.

Conclusions

EBV qPCR testing on BAL offers limited clinical impact. Additional biomarkers are required to improve the diagnosis of EBV-associated lung diseases.