Rapid diagnostic tests apply for pediatric infections at outpatient clinic setting.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Early identification of the etiology of infection is beneficial. Most infections are treated as outpatients. However, facilities for rapid diagnosis are not available in clinic settings. METHODS: We applied Immunochromatography (IC) and Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) methods to rapidly diagnose pathogens among 31 children with respiratory infection and 12 with gastroenteritis at a clinic in Saitama prefecture, Japan. Pathogens were then screened by multiplex conventional and real-time PCRs and bacterial culture. RESULTS: Respiratory pathogens were found in 64.5%. Despite the narrow spectrum, rapid tests identified pathogens in 28.6% of cases with a high agreement rate of 89.3% with PCR. Gastroenteritis pathogens were found in 66.7%. E. coli was positive in 3 cases and all were negative for verotoxin by LAMP. The agreement rate of IC and PCR assay was high, 100%. CONCLUSIONS: IC and LAMP are reliable and suitable methods in limited-resource settings for early pathogenic identification, which will help appropriate management, avoid unnecessary intervention, and cost saving.