Comparison of an in-house real-time RT-PCR assay with a commercial assay for detection of enterovirus RNA in clinical samples

Molecular detection of enterovirus (EV) RNA based on PCR methods is a quicker and more sensitive approach than culture methods. At present, different PCR-based methods for EV RNA detection are available, but comparisons of results obtained according to the different approaches are limited. We evaluated an in-house real-time RT-PCR assay with a commercialized TaqMan real-time RT-PCR kit for detection of EV. Consecutive clinical specimens from paediatric patients less than 6 years old with clinical suspicion of EV infection were analyzed between July and November 2010. After RNA extraction, samples were amplified both by the real-time RT-PCR commercial assay and the in-house assay. A total of 19 of 132 patients (14.4%) involving 20 samples (14 plasma samples and 6 CSF) were positive in at least one of the two assays. The sensitivity of the in-house assay when the MutaPLATE® assay was used as a reference was 90% (IC 95%; 74.35–100) and the specificity was 100% (IC 95%; 99.63–100). Cts results of two methods were statistically correlated (r = 0.774; P = 0.01). In conclusion, these two real-time RT-PCR assays are rapid and easy methods for detection of EV.