title: New rapid microbiological diagnostic techniques.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To briefly and critically review the role of new, rapid techniques, especially PCR, in the diagnosis of infectious diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Review of the literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  New diagnostic techniques show great promise but many techniques are still in their infancy and the relative roles of the various methods remain uncertain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems likely that different techniques will continue to be useful in a number of different contexts. No one technique is likely to become 'diagnostically dominant' in the foreseeable future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Westmead, Australia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Burgner
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Isaacs
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Givney
mesh_terms: D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008828:Microbiological Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D014776:Virus Cultivation / Q000379:methods