Five years' experience of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in daily diagnosis of enterovirus and rhinovirus infections.

To determine the efficiency of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays currently used in diagnosing enterovirus and rhinovirus infections, we compared results obtained with RT-PCR methods, which detect both enteroviruses and rhinoviruses simultaneously, with results obtained by conventional virus isolation. Both tests were performed on 591 specimens: 38 samples (6%) had positive results by both RT-PCR and isolation, 90 samples (15%) had positive results by RT-PCR only, and 7 samples (1%) had positive results only by virus isolation. In conclusion, RT-PCR was superior in rapidity and sensitivity to virus isolation and is recommended as the primary diagnostic tool for enterovirus and rhinovirus infections.