title: Superiority of reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction to conventional viral culture in the diagnosis of acute respiratory tract infections in children.
abstract: We compared the rates of detection of respiratory viruses by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and by conventional viral culture in 668 combined nasal and throat samples from a prospective, multicenter, population-based study of acute respiratory tract infections among hospitalized children aged <5 years. RT-PCR increased the yield of viral identification by 2-fold, compared with that of culture alone. The increased sensitivity of viral detection by RT-PCR will yield better estimates of the population burden of viral respiratory infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Strong Children's Research Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. geoff_weinberg@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Geoffrey A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Weinberg
authors.forename: Dean D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Erdman
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Caroline B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Frances J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Marie R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis; D018184:Paramyxoviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D013997:Time Factors; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods*