Comparing Nose-Throat Swabs and Nasopharyngeal Aspirates Collected From Children With Symptoms for Respiratory Virus Identification Using Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract

Nose-throat swab specimens, in combination with sensitive molecular testing, are a less invasive diagnostic respiratory specimen with adequate sensitivity for use in the clinic and hospital outpatient settings and large-scale community studies through parent collection. For children who present to a hospital in which an avian or pandemic strain of influenza virus is reasonably part of the differential diagnosis, nasopharyngeal aspirates or a similar collection technique (eg, nasal washes) should continue to be used.