Human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) RNA quantification in nasopharyngeal secretions identifies the hRSV etiologic role in acute respiratory tract infections of hospitalized infants

Abstract

hRSV RNA quantification is critical in defining the hRSV role in respiratory infections.

Prospective evaluation of a novel multiplex real-time PCR assay for detection of fifteen respiratory pathogens—Duration of symptoms significantly affects detection rate

“…For several viruses analysed in our study, the amount of viral DNA/RNA decreased with duration of symptoms, suggesting a gradual reduction of viral shedding from the epithelial surface over time. This is in concordance with the gradual reduction of RSV levels in nasopharyngeal aspirates described by Gerna et al 26 and Campanini et al 27 Dual viral infections are previously described in approximately 5-20% of infected patients, with a higher frequency among young children. 17,28,29 In accordance with previous studies we found two viruses in 7% of the samples.…”

Correlation of viral load as determined by real-time RT-PCR and clinical characteristics of respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infections in early infancy

“…However, as a result of our study, the following conclusions can be drawn: (1) RSV viral load decreased significantly between patient admission and discharge as reported previously (Campanini et al, 2007); (2) there was a significant correlation between patient viral load reduction and the time interval between admission and discharge; (3) no difference in viral load was found at admission between patients infected by RSV-A and patients infected by RSV-B strains. In this respect, there are some studies highlighting an association of RSV-A infections with greater illness severity (Walsh et al, 1997).…”

“…Following the use of quantitative reverse transcription (RT)-PCR (Campanini et al, 2007;Falsey et al, 2003), in recent years, real-time RT-PCR has become the method of choice for quantification of RSV load in nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) taken during acute respiratory tract infections (RTI) (Perkins et al, 2005). In this study, by using a real-time RT-PCR approach, quantification of RSV load in NPAs from 47 infants admitted to hospital with a lower RTI was investigated with respect to: (i) duration of hospitalization; (ii) drop in viral load during patient follow-up and symptom resolution; (iii) RSV subgroups (A and B); (iv) patient subdivision into two groups: one, including patients with bronchiolitis (n = 18), and the other one including patients with lower RTI other than bronchiolitis (n = 27).…”

The Relationship Between Respiratory Viral Loads and Diagnosis in Children Presenting to a Pediatric Hospital Emergency Department

“…For acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), or human rhinovirus (HRV) infections, previous studies have reported a direct association between viral load and clinical disease severity. [7][8][9][10] Newer protocols of multiplex qPCR for human respiratory viruses that include viral load quantification [11][12][13] have expanded the number of pathogens that can be assayed to enable an in depth study of the relationship between clinical diagnosis and total viral load within a specimen, the contribution of single versus multiple pathogens, and the association of specific viruses with clinical presentation.…”