title: Prospective evaluation of the Alere i Influenza A&B nucleic acid amplification versus Xpert Flu/RSV.
abstract: The rapid and accurate detection of influenza virus in respiratory specimens is required for optimal management of patients with acute respiratory infections. Because of the variability of the symptoms and the numerous other causes of influenza-like illness, the diagnosis of influenza cannot be made on the basis of clinical criteria alone. Thus, rapid influenza diagnostic tests have been developed such as the Alere i Influenza A&B isothermal nucleic acid assay. We prospectively evaluated the performance of the Alere i Influenza A&B assay in comparison with our routine Xpert Flu/RSV assay. Positive samples were subtyped according to the protocol from the National Influenza Center (Paris, France). A total of 96 respiratory nasal swab samples were analyzed: with both methods, 38 were positive and 56 were negative. Samples were prospectively collected from January 20 to April 8, 2015, from patient (86 adult and 10 pediatric patients) presenting with an influenza-like illness through the French influenza season. In comparison with the Xpert Flu/RSV assay, the overall sensitivity and specificity of the Alere i Influenza A&B assay were 95% and 100%, respectively. Our results indicate that the Alere i Influenza A&B assay has a good overall analytical performance and a high degree of concordance with the PCR-based Xpert Flu/RSV assay. The Alere i Influenza A&B isothermal nucleic acid amplification test is a powerful tool for influenza detection due to its high sensitivity and specificity as well as its ability to generate results within 15min.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Microbiologie Clinique, Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France. Electronic address: jcnguyen@hpsj.fr.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Nguyen Van
authors.affiliation: Unité de Microbiologie Clinique, Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caméléna
authors.affiliation: Unité de Microbiologie Clinique, Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dahoun
authors.affiliation: Equipe Mobile de Microbiologie Clinique, Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pilmis
authors.affiliation: Unité de Microbiologie Clinique, Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mizrahi
authors.affiliation: Unité de Microbiologie Clinique, Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lourtet
authors.affiliation: National Influenza Center (Northern France), Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Behillil
authors.affiliation: National Influenza Center (Northern France), Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Enouf
authors.affiliation: Unité de Microbiologie Clinique, Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Le Monnier
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D009981:Influenza B virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
keywords: Alere i Influenza; Influenza virus; Prospective evaluation