Diagnosis of enterovirus infection in the first 2 months of life by real-time polymerase chain reaction

Clin Infect Dis. 2003 Jul 1;37(1):1-6. doi: 10.1086/375222. Epub 2003 Jun 20.

Abstract

During summer and fall, enterovirus infections are responsible for a considerable proportion of hospitalizations of young infants. We prospectively studied the incidence of enterovirus infections via real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in blood, feces, and cerebrospinal fluid samples from infants <or=60 days old who had received a clinical diagnosis of sepsis. Forty-five patients were included: 19 were admitted to the pediatric wards of 2 general hospitals, and 26 had been hospitalized since birth in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a tertiary care hospital. None of the NICU patients developed enteroviral disease. In contrast, an enterovirus was detected in 11 (58%) of the patients admitted to the 2 general hospitals, 10 of whom (53%) showed evidence of systemic infection. Enterovirus infections are an important cause of sepsis in infants admitted to the hospital. Real-time PCR in serum was a rapid and sensitive method for diagnosis of enterovirus infection.

MeSH terms

  • Enterovirus / genetics
  • Enterovirus / isolation & purification*
  • Enterovirus Infections / diagnosis*
  • Enterovirus Infections / virology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity