Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology
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Comparative Study
The impact of an enteroviral RT-PCR assay on the diagnosis of aseptic meningitis and patient management.
Enterovirus (EV) is a major cause of aseptic meningitis and non-specific febrile illness in children. Since the majority of patients are hospitalized for possible bacterial infection, a rapid test for the diagnosis of enteroviral meningitis (EVM) may reduce hospitalizations and unnecessary treatments. ⋯ RT-PCR testing for EVM is an important tool to aid in the diagnosis of children with non-specific febrile illness. This test impacted patient management as measured by shortened patient stays, which should translate into significant health care savings.