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Nasal Swab versus Nasopharyngeal Aspirate for Isolation of Respiratory Viruses

Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital,¹ Department of Virology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland²

Received 11 February 2002/ Returned for modification 23 May 2002/ Accepted 31 August 2002

To determine the usefulness of nasal swabs as a simple method for detection of respiratory viruses, we compared nasal swabs and nasopharyngeal aspirates obtained at the same time from the opposite nostrils of 230 children with upper respiratory infection. The sensitivity of nasal swabs was comparable to that of nasopharyngeal aspirates for the detection of all major respiratory viruses except respiratory syncytial virus.

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