title: PCR testing for paediatric acute respiratory tract infections.
abstract: Acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) is a frequently occurring disease in children. It is a clinical diagnosis for which no internationally accepted diagnostic test is available. The majority of ARI is viral in origin, though diagnostic tests for viruses were rarely performed in the past. In the past 2 decades, new molecular techniques have been introduced in many hospitals. They are capable of generating a high yield of viral and bacterial diagnoses, but their impact upon clinical practices is still questionable. In this paper, we discuss the difficulties of diagnosing ARI in children, the indications for conventional and new diagnostics and their implications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Reinier de Graaf Hospital, Delft, The Netherlands. Electronic address: wishaupt@rdgg.nl.
authors.forename: Jérôme O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Wishaupt
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Groene Hart Ziekenhuis, Gouda, The Netherlands and Department of Paediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: florens.versteegh@ghz.nl.
authors.forename: Florens G A
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Versteegh
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Sint Franciscus Gasthuis, Rotterdam and Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Erasmus MC-Sophia, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: n.hartwig@sfg.nl.
authors.forename: Nico G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Hartwig
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014780:Viruses / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: Acute respiratory tract infection; Child; Pathogen; Real time PCR; Virus