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Test Code BKVP BK Virus (BKV) Quantitative PCR, Blood

Important Note

Plasma testing for BKV viremia is recommended as part of the strategy to identify patients at increased risk for Polyoma Virus Nephropathy (PVN), either as a confirmatory test for patients in whom BKV viruria is detected, or as the primary testing modality for routine screening.

Infectious

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Whole blood

Preferred Specimen: Lavender EDTA tube

Volume

Preferred Volume: 5 - 10 mL

Minimum Volume: 3 mL

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

(20 - 25°C)

24 hours

Refrigerated

(2 - 10°C)

 24 hours

Frozen

(-20°C)

not acceptable

Collection Instructions

Specimen Collection: Venipucture


Specimen Transport: Immediate

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. 

 

UCMC Offsite and UC MedLab Outreach Instructions: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. If transport is delayed, refrigerate specimens prior to transport.

Rejection Criteria

  • Common specimen rejected situations include: incorrect specimen type, insufficient volume, incorrect collection container, missing or incomplete specimen identifiers, incorrect specimen transport, or specimens outside stability limits. 
  • Only one test request per day is accepted.
  • Whole blood/unspun samples greater than 24 hours will be rejected.  
  • Whole blood not collected in Lavender top vacuatainer tube will be rejected.

Reference Values

 

Analyte

Age

Sex

Reference Range

Negative

All

All

No BKV DNA detected

Detection limit

All

All

 21.5 IU/mL

Quantitation Reportable Range

All

All

 21.5 - 20,000,000 IU/mL

Quantitation Reportable Range Log

All

All

 1.33 - 7.30 log IU/mL

Turnaround Time

Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory. 

STAT Turnaround Time: not available

Routine Turnaround Time: 72 hours

Testing Schedule: Monday - Sunday

Clinical Indications

  • BKV infection may cause severe clinical disease in immunocompromised persons, including transplant recipients.

  • cobas® BKV is not intended for use as a screening test for the presence of BKV in blood or blood products or human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products (HCT/Ps).

  • Quantitation of BKV DNA may be affected by sample collection methods, patient factors (i.e., age, presence of symptoms), and/or stage of infection.

  • cobas® BKV test results should be interpreted in the context of other clinical data and should not be the sole basis for treatment decisions.

Methodology

Roche cobas® 6800 automated PCR

CPT Codes

87799

LOINC Codes

30487799

Synonyms/Keyword Search

BKV, BKV PCRVIRUS, POLYOMAVIRUS, BKVP, BK Virus, BKV DNA, BKV PCR, BLV plasma

Last Review Date

09/05/2025