Investigation of viral agents by multiplex PCR in children with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection.

Abstract

Objective: We evaluate the results of “respiratory viral panel” tested in children with symptoms of acute upper respiratory tract infections. Methods: Multiplex PCR test results of nasopharyngeal swap samples of 160 symptomatic children were analyzed. Results: Fifty-five patients (34.4%) had PCR test positivity. Two (n=5 patients; 3.1%), and three (n=1; 0.6%) viral species were detected. Rhinovirus was the most frequently detected species (n= 14; 25.4%). Conclusion: It was concluded that multiplex PCR is a reliable test which can simultaneously detect numerous viruses in a short time in accordance with the results of this study.