Table 2.
Comparison of Conventional and Molecular Methods.
| Conventional | Molecular | p | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Variables | Assaysa | Assay | value |
| No. of detectable viruses | 9 | 14 | |
| No. of NPA tested | 165 | 165 | |
| No. (%) of positive NPA | 114 (69.1) | 158 (95.8) | <0.001d |
| No. of virus detected | 114 | 213 | <0.001e |
| No. of extra virus detected | 0 | 92 | |
| No. of samples with co-infections | 0 | 46 (27.9) | |
| No. of positive NPA by virus types | |||
| 1. Conventional viruses | 94 (56.9) | 146 (88.5) | |
| RSV | 71 (43.0) | 83 (50.3) | <0.001 d |
| HMPV | 11 (6.7) | 16 (9.7) | 0.062 d |
| IFV-A | 3 (1.8) | 15 (9.1) | <0.001 d |
| IFV-B | 0 | 0 | – |
| PIV1 | 1 (0.6) | 1 (0.6) | – |
| PIV2 | 2 (1.2) | 3 (1.8) | – |
| PIV3 | 1 (0.6) | 4 (2.4) | – |
| HAdV | 5 (3.0) | 24 (14.5) | <0.001 d |
| 2. Unconventional viruses | 27 (16.4) | 67 (41.0) | – |
| PIV4 | NA | 0 | – |
| HRV | 27 (16.4) | 54 (32.7) | <0.001 d |
| HEV | NA | 3 (1.8) | – |
| HCOV OC43 | NA | 4 (2.4) | – |
| HCOV 229E | NA | 0 | – |
| HBoV | NA | 6 (3.6) | – |
aincluding DFA and SVC and conventional cell culture; NA: not available; b No of positive samples detected by conventional but not by molecular assay; cNo of positive samples detected by molecular but not immunological assay;d McNemar test; e Paired-samples t-test.