1. Prospective application of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for diagnosing influenza infections in respiratory samples from a children's hospital
- Author
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E.C.J. Claas, G. I. Arron, M. J. W. Sprenger, Nic Masurel, P. H. Rothbarth, M. Ruiten-Stuiver, and A. J. van Milaan
- Subjects
Microbiology (medical) ,Molecular Sequence Data ,Orthomyxoviridae ,Fluorescent Antibody Technique ,Biology ,medicine.disease_cause ,Immunofluorescence ,Polymerase Chain Reaction ,Sensitivity and Specificity ,Virus ,law.invention ,law ,Nasopharynx ,Influenza, Human ,Influenza A virus ,medicine ,Humans ,Prospective Studies ,Child ,Polymerase chain reaction ,Base Sequence ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,RNA ,biology.organism_classification ,Virology ,Reverse transcriptase ,Cell culture ,RNA, Viral ,Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ,Research Article - Abstract
A prospective clinical evaluation of the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RNA PCR) for detection of influenza viruses was carried out with specimens from 342 patients of a children's hospital in The Netherlands. The RNA PCR, carried out directly on the specimens without an organic extraction, showed a sensitivity and specificity which are superior to those of direct immunofluorescence and comparable to those of cell culture combined with immunofluorescence (culture/IF). Negative results can be obtained within 2 days by the RNA PCR but may take up to 14 days by culture/IF. Because culturing is the standard technique for the detection of respiratory viruses, at this moment there are no strong arguments to replace culture/IF with RNA PCR for the detection of influenza A virus.
- Published
- 1993
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