1. Human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) RNA quantification in nasopharyngeal secretions identifies the hRSV etiologic role in acute respiratory tract infections of hospitalized infants
- Author
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Antonietta Marchi, Alice Bertaina, Elena Percivalle, Giuseppe Gerna, Mauro Stronati, Francesca Rovida, Fausto Baldanti, and Giulia Campanini
- Subjects
Paramyxoviridae ,RT-PCR ,Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections ,Respiratory syncytial virus ,Sensitivity and Specificity ,Article ,Pneumovirinae ,Nasopharynx ,Virology ,medicine ,Humans ,Viral respiratory infections ,Mononegavirales ,Respiratory Tract Infections ,DFA, direct fluorescent antibody ,Acute respiratory tract infection ,Respiratory tract infections ,biology ,Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ,ARTI, acute respiratory tract infection ,Infant ,Pneumovirus ,biology.organism_classification ,hRSV RNA quantification ,Hospitalization ,hRSV, human respiratory syncytial virus ,NPA, nasopharyngeal aspirate ,Infectious Diseases ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human ,Acute Disease ,Immunology ,RNA, Viral ,CC, cell culture ,RT-PCR, reverse transcription-PCR ,Viral load ,Respiratory tract - Abstract
Background Human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) detection in nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) from infants with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) does not prove the hRSV etiology of the current ARTI episode. HRSV RNA quantification may help in affording this issue. Objectives hRSV was detected by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in NPAs taken upon admission to hospital and, whenever possible, at discharge and subsequent medical visits. Study design Prospective study, including 63 infants affected by either hRSV upper or lower ARTI. Results Based on the kinetics of viral load, hRSV etiology was identified in 25 infants in whom hRSV load dropped from 2.5 × 106 upon admission (presence of respiratory symptoms) to 7.5 × 102 RNA copies/ml NPA upon discharge (absence of symptoms) after a median time of 5 days, and in 19 infants, in whom hRSV load was determined at admission only, in association with clinical symptoms (2.4 × 106 copies/ml). Furthermore, low levels of hRSV RNA (
- Published
- 2007
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