To evaluate the accuracy and efficacy of the RT-PCR/ESI-MS method, to detect and type enterovirus from specimens of clinical diagnosed HFMD patients.
In this study, 152 specimens of clinically diagnosed HFMD patients were studied by the assay using RT-PCR/ESI-MS method. The detection and typing of enterovirus by RT-PCR/ESI-MS were compared with results from reference molecular methods.
The assay detected enteroviruses in 97 (63.8%) specimens, resulting in a sensitivity of 93.8% (95% CI: 91.8-95.7%) and a specificity of 87.5% (95% CI: 84.8-90.2%) compared with a reference clinical diagnostic test. Most enterovirus genotypes (65/84; 77%) determined by the platform were consistent with 5鈥?UTR sequence analysis, and most misidentifications resulted from the virus library, which could be further improved by updating the enterovirus database. In addition to enteroviruses, herpesviruses, polyomaviruses, adenoviruses and human rhinoviruses were detected and identified in 55 (36%) HFMD specimens by RT-PCR/ESI-MS.
With the capability of high throughput and detection and typing of multiple clinically relevant viruses simultaneously, RT-PCR/ESI-MS can be a rapid and robust laboratory tool for identifying viral pathogens.