title: Nasal swab versus nasopharyngeal aspirate for isolation of respiratory viruses.
abstract: To determine the usefulness of nasal swabs as a simple method for detection of respiratory viruses, we compared nasal swabs and nasopharyngeal aspirates obtained at the same time from the opposite nostrils of 230 children with upper respiratory infection. The sensitivity of nasal swabs was comparable to that of nasopharyngeal aspirates for the detection of all major respiratory viruses except respiratory syncytial virus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital. Department of Virology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. terho.heikkinen@utu.fi
authors.forename: Terho
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Heikkinen
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marttila
authors.forename: Aimo A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Salmi
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ruuskanen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009093:Mucus / Q000821:virology; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000821:virology*; D009666:Nose / Q000821:virology*; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000821:virology; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000821:virology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D014780:Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*