[Microbiological diagnosis of viral respiratory infections in the adult patient]. / Diagnóstico microbiológico de las infecciones virales respiratorias en el paciente adulto.

Conventional techniques for the diagnosis of respiratory viruses are still being used, although molecular methods are now considered as a gold standard in this field. Molecular techniques have a great number of advantages such as an excellent sensitivity, specificity, adaptability to emerging viruses, capability for multiplex and for automation. With all the available repertoire of techniques for microbiological diagnosis, the knowledge relative to respiratory viruses is growing up not only for new aetiological agents but also for its epidemiology. The advances in molecular and non-molecular fast diagnostic methods for one or more respiratory viruses allow quick decisions in the management of the patient. However, there are also disadvantages. The great sensitivity of molecular techniques has meant a significant increase in the rate of multiple detections of respiratory viruses, whose clinical involvement is difficult to interpret. Finally, it remains to show whether the use of new techniques, of high cost, in the microbiological routine diagnosis of acute respiratory viral infections in the hospitalized patient, is cost effective.