A single-center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with Epstein-Barr virus

Abstract This retrospective study analyzed serological and molecular diagnostic data from 7,170 EBV-infected patients treated at the Clinical Laboratory Center of Lanzhou University Second Hospital between 2018 and 2024. The aim was to evaluate the clinical utility of combining EBV DNA quantificatio...

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Main Authors: Hongwei Gao, Weiguo Wang, Xin Ma, Anan Zhang, Yunyan Pan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Infectious Diseases
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-11204-x
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author Hongwei Gao
Weiguo Wang
Xin Ma
Anan Zhang
Yunyan Pan
author_facet Hongwei Gao
Weiguo Wang
Xin Ma
Anan Zhang
Yunyan Pan
author_sort Hongwei Gao
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This retrospective study analyzed serological and molecular diagnostic data from 7,170 EBV-infected patients treated at the Clinical Laboratory Center of Lanzhou University Second Hospital between 2018 and 2024. The aim was to evaluate the clinical utility of combining EBV DNA quantification via qPCR with antibody testing (VCA-IgM, VCA-IgG, EA-IgM, EBNA-IgG, and VCA-IgA) using ELISA. Significant age-related variations were observed across DNA replication groups, with the high viral load (1 × 10⁵ copies/mL) predominantly detected in adolescents (median age: 13 years). VCA-IgM demonstrated the strongest association with DNA replication levels (OR = 0.168, p < 0.001), yet 45.2% (14/31) of high viral load(1 × 10⁵ copies/mL) cases were VCA-IgM negative, underscoring the limitations of relying solely on serology in immunocompromised populations. Our findings emphasize the necessity of integrating molecular and serological testing for accurate EBV diagnosis, particularly in resource-limited settings.
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spelling doaj-art-2f353552c94243ae91963a3d2202afd82025-08-20T03:37:23ZengBMCBMC Infectious Diseases1471-23342025-07-012511810.1186/s12879-025-11204-xA single-center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with Epstein-Barr virusHongwei Gao0Weiguo Wang1Xin Ma2Anan Zhang3Yunyan Pan4Laboratory Medicine Center, The Second Hospital & Clinical Medical School, Lanzhou UniversityLaboratory Medicine Center, The Second Hospital & Clinical Medical School, Lanzhou UniversityLaboratory Medicine Center, The Second Hospital & Clinical Medical School, Lanzhou UniversityLaboratory Medicine Center, The Second Hospital & Clinical Medical School, Lanzhou UniversityLaboratory Medicine Center, The Second Hospital & Clinical Medical School, Lanzhou UniversityAbstract This retrospective study analyzed serological and molecular diagnostic data from 7,170 EBV-infected patients treated at the Clinical Laboratory Center of Lanzhou University Second Hospital between 2018 and 2024. The aim was to evaluate the clinical utility of combining EBV DNA quantification via qPCR with antibody testing (VCA-IgM, VCA-IgG, EA-IgM, EBNA-IgG, and VCA-IgA) using ELISA. Significant age-related variations were observed across DNA replication groups, with the high viral load (1 × 10⁵ copies/mL) predominantly detected in adolescents (median age: 13 years). VCA-IgM demonstrated the strongest association with DNA replication levels (OR = 0.168, p < 0.001), yet 45.2% (14/31) of high viral load(1 × 10⁵ copies/mL) cases were VCA-IgM negative, underscoring the limitations of relying solely on serology in immunocompromised populations. Our findings emphasize the necessity of integrating molecular and serological testing for accurate EBV diagnosis, particularly in resource-limited settings.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-11204-xEBVSerological assaysMolecular diagnosticsDNA replicationDiagnostic implications
spellingShingle Hongwei Gao
Weiguo Wang
Xin Ma
Anan Zhang
Yunyan Pan
A single-center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with Epstein-Barr virus
BMC Infectious Diseases
EBV
Serological assays
Molecular diagnostics
DNA replication
Diagnostic implications
title A single-center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with Epstein-Barr virus
title_full A single-center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with Epstein-Barr virus
title_fullStr A single-center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with Epstein-Barr virus
title_full_unstemmed A single-center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with Epstein-Barr virus
title_short A single-center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with Epstein-Barr virus
title_sort single center retrospective analysis of serological and molecular findings in patients infected with epstein barr virus
topic EBV
Serological assays
Molecular diagnostics
DNA replication
Diagnostic implications
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-11204-x
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