Five years' experience of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in daily diagnosis of enterovirus and rhinovirus infections.
To determine the efficiency of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays currently used in diagnosing enterovirus and rhinovirus infections, we compared results obtained with RT-PCR methods, which detect both enteroviruses and rhinoviruses simultaneously, with results obtained by conventional virus isolation. Both tests were performed on 591 specimens: 38 samples (6%) had positive results by both RT-PCR and isolation, 90 samples (15%) had positive results by RT-PCR only, and 7 samples (1%) had positive results only by virus isolation. In conclusion, RT-PCR was superior in rapidity and sensitivity to virus isolation and is recommended as the primary diagnostic tool for enterovirus and rhinovirus infections.
Vuorinen
Tytti
T
Department of Virology, University of Turku, FIN-20520 Turku, Finland. tytti.vuorinen@utu.fi
Vainionpää
Raija
R
Hyypiä
Timo
T
D004770:Enterovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D010850:Picornaviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012229:Rhinovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity