Diagnosis of enterovirus infection in the first 2 months of life by real-time polymerase chain reaction.
During summer and fall, enterovirus infections are responsible for a considerable proportion of hospitalizations of young infants. We prospectively studied the incidence of enterovirus infections via real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in blood, feces, and cerebrospinal fluid samples from infants <or=60 days old who had received a clinical diagnosis of sepsis. Forty-five patients were included: 19 were admitted to the pediatric wards of 2 general hospitals, and 26 had been hospitalized since birth in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a tertiary care hospital. None of the NICU patients developed enteroviral disease. In contrast, an enterovirus was detected in 11 (58%) of the patients admitted to the 2 general hospitals, 10 of whom (53%) showed evidence of systemic infection. Enterovirus infections are an important cause of sepsis in infants admitted to the hospital. Real-time PCR in serum was a rapid and sensitive method for diagnosis of enterovirus infection.
Verboon-Maciolek
M A
MA
Department of Neonatology, Eijkman Winkler Institute for Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Inflammation, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands. M.Verboon-Maciolek@wkz.azu.nl
Nijhuis
M
M
van Loon
A M
AM
van Maarssenveen
N
N
van Wieringen
H
H
Pekelharing-Berghuis
M A
MA
Krediet
T G
TG
Gerards
L J
LJ
Fleer
A
A
Diepersloot
R J A
RJ
Thijsen
S F T
SF
D004770:Enterovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity