Evaluation of a rapid enzyme-linked immunoassay for the diagnosis of herpes simplex virus in cancer patients with oral lesions

Oral herpes simplex virus infection in immunocompromised cancer patients can have a variety of different clinical appearances, which makes diagnosis difficult, and it can be associated with significant morbidity. Prompt diagnosis is important so that therapy can be started as soon as possible. The standard by which the diagnosis of herpes simplex virus is made is a culture that can take up to 10 days to produce results. In an effort to test a possibly better method, we evaluated a 12-minute, enzyme-linked immunoassay and found the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value to be 75.9%, 90.0%, 84.6%, and 83.7%, respectively. This test is easy, inexpensive, and can be done in a clinical setting, thus providing a prompt, accurate result so that treatment can be started without delay. This promptness is especially important in the immunocompromised cancer patient.