Diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis
Table 2 shows the different methods used to ascertain IM. Sixteen studies evaluated IM specifically caused by EBV using EBV-specific antibodies such as IgM and/or IgG with absence of EBNA while one study only evaluated CMV mononucleosis confirmed by CMV IgM6 and PCR. Thirteen studies used a combination of typical clinical symptoms (fatigue, fever, sore throat and swollen lymph nodes), presence of heterophile antibodies, and lymphocytosis or atypical lymphocytes to diagnose IM. Two studies did not report on method of diagnosis of IM 30,19.