Nasopharyngeal swabs and nasopharyngeal aspirates equally effective for the diagnosis of viral respiratory disease in hospitalized children.
Paired nasopharyngeal swab and nasopharyngeal aspirate specimens from 125 patients were compared for viral diagnosis. The viral isolation rates were comparable for the two types of specimens. There was a high level of agreement between the two specimens in overall positivity rate by immunofluorescence and positivity in culture-confirmed patients.
Frayha
H
H
Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Castriciano
S
S
Mahony
J
J
Chernesky
M
M
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014780:Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*