Objective: To evaluate the performance of the xTAG liquid chip technology (xTAG-LCT) for etiological diagnosis of acute retinal necrosis (ARN).

Methods: Fifteen vitreous and 3 aqueous samples from 18 ARN patients were analyzed by xTAG-LCT and multiplex PCR (mPCR)/quantitative PCR (qPCR).

Results: xTAG-LCT revealed positive results in 17 of the 18 samples: 10 for Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) alone; 5 for VZV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV); 1 for herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) and EBV; 1 for VZV, HSV-1 and EBV. While mPCR revealed the same results as xTAG-LCT for VZV and HSV-1 in all samples, only 2 of the 7 samples positive for EBV on xTAG-LCT were confirmed by qPCR. None of the 28 control vitreous samples from 8 non-ARN patients and 10 pair of cadaveric eyes was positive for any of the tested viruses.

Conclusions: xTAG-LCT could be a useful alternative for etiological diagnosis of ARN.