Performance characteristics of a rapid immunochromatographic assay for detection of influenza virus in children during the 2003 to 2004 influenza season.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluate the performance of a rapid assay (Binax NOW) for the detection of influenza A virus in children.


METHODS
The performance of an in vitro rapid immunochromatographic assay for detection of influenza A virus was compared to viral culture in 4,383 consecutive respiratory specimens received during the 2003 to 2004 season, which included an influenza A epidemic in October and November of 2003.


RESULTS
The overall test sensitivity was 61.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 60.3% to 63.2%) and specificity was 95.8% (95% CI 95.1% to 96.3%). In preplanned subset analyses, we found the test more sensitive in infants aged 90 days or younger (sensitivity 70.3%; specificity 96.6%) and less specific during the epidemic (sensitivity 61.7%; specificity 90.4%).


CONCLUSIONS
This rapid assay was highly specific for detecting influenza A in children and thus appears useful for confirming this infection. Because of its limited sensitivity, however, a negative test cannot rule out influenza A.
Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. atcruz@texaschildrenshospital.org
Andrea T
AT
Cruz
Andreea C
AC
Cazacu
Latresha J
LJ
McBride
Jewel M
JM
Greer
Gail J
GJ
Demmler
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002845:Chromatography / Q000295:instrumentation; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000295:instrumentation; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology*; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014776:Virus Cultivation
D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic