Evaluation of the Becton Dickinson Directigen test for respiratory syncytial virus in nasopharyngeal aspirates.
A premarket trial of the Becton Dickinson Directigen respiratory syncytial virus membrane-based enzyme immunoassay compared the test with virus isolation for the detection of respiratory syncytial virus in 583 nasopharyngeal aspirates. After modification, the Directigen test showed a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 90%. It offers the potential for an efficient bedside test--without the need for any equipment--for the diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus infection and requires only a 0.25-ml sample volume. However, for optimum reliability, freezing-thawing of samples and access to a confirmatory test were shown to be necessary.
Division of Medical Virology, Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide, South Australia.
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Barancek
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Burrell
D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010253:Respirovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*