BACKGROUND: Institutional pandemic planning prompted a study of the molecular detection of influenza virus from respiratory specimens in children, compared to conventional diagnostics. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of a commercial qualitative real-time RT-PCR kit (rRT-PCR), the artus Influenza LC RT-PCR (Qiagen). STUDY DESIGN (METHODS): Specimens were pre-selected to include a high percentage of positives by direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA) or culture. The sensitivity and specificity of the kit for detection of influenza A and B in children were determined against the gold standard, DFA and culture. Specimens yielding discordant results between artus and the gold standard were tested against a reference rRT-PCR assay (Centers for Disease Control) to create an "expanded gold standard". RESULTS: When compared to DFA or cell culture, the sensitivity of the rRT-PCR artus kit was 96.2% and the specificity was 94%. It detected influenza RNA in 6.0% of clinical samples negative by DFA or culture. Using the expanded gold standard, the revised sensitivity was 98.7% (98.6% for influenza A and 97.6% for influenza B) and the specificity was 100%. CONCLUSION: The artus Influenza LC RT-PCR kit is an effective alternative to virus isolation and DFA for the detection of influenza A and B in pediatric clinical specimens.
BACKGROUND: Institutional pandemic planning prompted a study of the molecular detection of influenza virus from respiratory specimens in children, compared to conventional diagnostics. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of a commercial qualitative real-time RT-PCR kit (rRT-PCR), the artus Influenza LC RT-PCR (Qiagen). STUDY DESIGN (METHODS): Specimens were pre-selected to include a high percentage of positives by direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA) or culture. The sensitivity and specificity of the kit for detection of influenza A and B in children were determined against the gold standard, DFA and culture. Specimens yielding discordant results between artus and the gold standard were tested against a reference rRT-PCR assay (Centers for Disease Control) to create an "expanded gold standard". RESULTS: When compared to DFA or cell culture, the sensitivity of the rRT-PCR artus kit was 96.2% and the specificity was 94%. It detected influenza RNA in 6.0% of clinical samples negative by DFA or culture. Using the expanded gold standard, the revised sensitivity was 98.7% (98.6% for influenza A and 97.6% for influenza B) and the specificity was 100%. CONCLUSION: The artus Influenza LC RT-PCR kit is an effective alternative to virus isolation and DFA for the detection of influenza A and B in pediatric clinical specimens.
Authors: Amy M Denison; Dianna M Blau; Heather A Jost; Tara Jones; Dominique Rollin; Rongbao Gao; Lindy Liu; Julu Bhatnagar; Marlene Deleon-Carnes; Wun-Ju Shieh; Christopher D Paddock; Clifton Drew; Patricia Adem; Shannon L Emery; Bo Shu; Kai-Hui Wu; Brigid Batten; Patricia W Greer; Chalanda S Smith; Jeanine Bartlett; Jeltley L Montague; Mitesh Patel; Xiyan Xu; Stephen Lindstrom; Alexander I Klimov; Sherif R Zaki Journal: J Mol Diagn Date: 2011-03 Impact factor: 5.568
Authors: Alexander J Millman; Carrie Reed; Pam Daily Kirley; Deborah Aragon; James Meek; Monica M Farley; Patricia Ryan; Jim Collins; Ruth Lynfield; Joan Baumbach; Shelley Zansky; Nancy M Bennett; Brian Fowler; Ann Thomas; Mary L Lindegren; Annette Atkinson; Lyn Finelli; Sandra S Chaves Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2015-09 Impact factor: 6.883
Authors: Christopher W Woods; Micah T McClain; Minhua Chen; Aimee K Zaas; Bradly P Nicholson; Jay Varkey; Timothy Veldman; Stephen F Kingsmore; Yongsheng Huang; Robert Lambkin-Williams; Anthony G Gilbert; Alfred O Hero; Elizabeth Ramsburg; Seth Glickman; Joseph E Lucas; Lawrence Carin; Geoffrey S Ginsburg Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-01-09 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Micah T McClain; Bradly P Nicholson; Lawrence P Park; Tzu-Yu Liu; Alfred O Hero; Ephraim L Tsalik; Aimee K Zaas; Timothy Veldman; Lori L Hudson; Robert Lambkin-Williams; Anthony Gilbert; Thomas Burke; Marshall Nichols; Geoffrey S Ginsburg; Christopher W Woods Journal: Open Forum Infect Dis Date: 2016-01-19 Impact factor: 3.835