title: Nasopharyngeal swabs and nasopharyngeal aspirates equally effective for the diagnosis of viral respiratory disease in hospitalized children.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Frayha
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castriciano
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mahony
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chernesky
mesh_terms: 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*