Why the study?
Does enterovirus PCR testing of cerebrospinal fluid reduce hospital stay and antibiotic use in children with suspected meningitis or fever?
Does enterovirus PCR testing of cerebrospinal fluid reduce hospital stay and antibiotic use in children with suspected meningitis or fever?
Daily on-site enterovirus PCR testing of cerebrospinal fluid in children with suspected meningitis can reduce unnecessary hospital days and antibiotic therapy.
May reduce unnecessary hospital days and antibiotics in EV-positive pediatric cases; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before practice change.
A polymerase chain reaction kit (AMPLICOR EV) for the detection of enteroviruses (EV-PCR) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was evaluated in clinical conditions in a prospective blinded-intention study. Forty-three children (mean age 2.7 years) hospitalized for suspected meningitis or fever of unclear etiology were enrolled. EV-PCR was performed on a daily basis. Results were available in less than 2 days in 72% of cases. EV-PCR was positive in nine (21%) children, including three infants without CSF pleocytosis. Knowing their EV-PCR result would have allowed a saving of 18 hospital days and 12 days of antibiotic therapy. The EV-PCR in the CSF can thus be practically useful for children hospitalized for meningitis or fever if available on-site on a daily basis.
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Spicher et al. (2000) studied this question.
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