Comparison of PCR with culture applied on nasopharyngeal and throat swab specimens for the detection of Bordetella pertussis.

An in-house nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was prospectively compared with culture for Bordetella pertussis detection in 435 nasopharyngeal and/or throat swabs from 304 patients. One hundred specimens - 21% of nasopharyngeal swabs and 25% of throat swabs - were PCR- and/or culture-positive. Seventy percent of positive nasopharyngeal samples and 44% of positive throat samples were culture-positive.