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Stool samples offer noninvasive diagnostics for parechovirus in children
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The use of noninvasive PCR-based human parechovirus diagnostics from stool samples of pediatric patients improved the accuracy of hospital-based central nervous system disease surveillance, according to recent study results.
“Pediatricians encountering infants and children below 4 years of age … should consider including PCR-based human parechovirus diagnostics from noninvasive stool samples in their differential diagnosis,” Katharina Karsch, MD, of the Charité University Medical Center, Germany, and colleagues wrote. “This is particularly important in this young age group, where routine childhood immunizations are administered commonly, and rash or seizures may be mistaken for adverse events following immunization.”
To determine the association between stool sampling and human parechovirus in children aged younger than 4 years, the researchers collected stool samples from a final cohort of 284 patients with central nervous system disease. Of the tested samples, 4.2% were positive for human parechovirus. Another 15.1% of stool samples tested positive for enterovirus. The researchers said there were no other viral, fungal or bacterial pathogens identified.
Patients who tested positive for human parechovirus were more likely to be aged younger (P < .001) than patients without human parechovirus.
The most common symptoms found in patients who tested positive for human parechovirus were seizures (P = .001) and rash (P < .0001). The researchers said the absence of headache was one of the most significant symptoms associated with human parechovirus diagnosis (P < .05).
“It remains to be seen if enhanced viral diagnostics will also improve the communication between pediatricians and concerned parents and caregivers, especially if a human parechovirus diagnosis may imply that the risk of neurologic complications may be lower than in other patients with suspected central nervous system disease,” Karsch and colleagues wrote. – by David Costill
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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