title: Additional diagnostic yield of adding serology to PCR in diagnosing viral acute respiratory infections in Kenyan patients 5 years of age and older.
abstract: The role of serology in the setting of PCR-based diagnosis of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) is unclear. We found that acute- and convalescent-phase paired-sample serologic testing increased the diagnostic yield of naso/oropharyngeal swabs for influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus, adenovirus, and parainfluenza viruses beyond PCR by 0.4% to 10.7%. Although still limited for clinical use, serology, along with PCR, can maximize etiologic diagnosis in epidemiologic studies.
authors.affiliation: International Emerging Infections Program, Global Disease Detection Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Kenya. dfeikin@jhsph.edu
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Feikin
authors.forename: M Kariuki
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Njenga
authors.forename: Godfrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bigogo
authors.forename: Barrack
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aura
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gikunju
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Balish
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Erdman
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Breiman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014780:Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D055815:Young Adult