Incidence of Adenovirus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Chronic Otitis Media with Effusion Using the Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of adenovirus and respiratory syncytial virus in the cause of chronic otitis media with effusion by use of the polymerase chain reaction for detection. The polymerase chain reaction has proved to be more sensitive and specific than viral cultures and immunoassays in the detection of viruses in other specimens. Adenovirus and respiratory syncytial virus were chosen because these viruses have been the most commonly isolated viruses in middle ear effusions in studies using other techniques. The effusions (132 total) were sterilely collected from 88 children undergoing myringotomy and ventilation tube placement for chronic otitis media with effusion. Nine (6.8%) specimens were positive for adenovirus by the polymerase chain reaction, and 13 (9.9%) were positive for respiratory syncytial virus by the polymerase chain reaction. Only one specimen was positive for adenovirus and respiratory syncytial virus by viral culture and immunofluorescence, respectively. Our results show that the polymerase chain reaction can be used to detect adenovirus and respiratory syncytial virus in chronic middle ear effusions and that PCR is more sensitive than viral culture and immunofluorescence techniques.

Etiological Role of Viruses in Outbreaks of Acute Gastroenteritis in The Netherlands from 1994 through 2005

“…Since rotaviruses have double-stranded RNA, both primers were used in the RT step to increase the chance for the detection of RV. For the molecular detection of AdV (32) and AsV (31), previously described primers have been used with adjustments in the amplification protocols (see below). Additionally, specimens from all unexplained outbreaks have been tested for AV (44,45).…”

Adenovirus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Chronic Sinusitis Using Polymerase Chain Reaction

“…The PCR technique used for extraction of adenovirus and RSV was described by Shaw et al 15 Before PCR for adenovirus and RSV was performed on patients specimens, a known adenovirus type 3 and RSV long strain were grown on standard cell lines, respectively. Once an adequate cytopathic effect was noted, the cell cultures underwent nucleic acid extraction and PCR processing.…”

Use of diagnostic algorithms and new technologies to study the incidence and prevalence of viral upper respiratory tract infections and their complications in high risk populations

“…Compared with other methods of detection, PCR has proved to be equivalent or superior with respect to sensitivity. Probes with high specificity and sensitivity have been published and validated for all of the viruses that cause vURIs and some are specific to strains and substrains of a virus [4, [58][59][60][61][62]. Also, balanced reaction mixtures (multiplex) for PCR amplification have been developed that allow for the simultaneous detection of multiple viruses in a given sample [33,63,64 ] and new biochip platforms hold promise for unambiguous identification of all types and subtypes of viruses within hours [65].…”