Does a 5-h PCR assay improve the detection of enteroviruses compared to viral culture in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with aseptic meningitis?
The Amplicor PCR assay improves the detection of enteroviruses in cerebrospinal fluid compared to traditional viral culture.
A 5-h PCR assay (Amplicor enterovirus test) was compared with viral culture for the detection of enteroviruses in cerebrospinal fluid. Of the cerebrospinal fluid specimens collected during a summer outbreak of aseptic meningitis, 34% were positive by viral culture whereas 66% were positive by the Amplicor PCR, suggesting that this technique improves the diagnosis of enteroviral meningitis.
Yerly et al. (1996) studied this question.