Performance of the Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel Fast in a clinical laboratory setting

The aim of the study was to develop a real-time RT-PCR for the detection of enteroviruses (EVs) and rhinoviruses (RVs) and to assess the performance of the xTAG RVP Fast assay in comparison to a direct fluorescent assay (DFA), a real-time RT-PCR assay for the detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), and the EV/RV RT-PCR assay developed in this study. The performance of the RVP Fast assay was assessed in the analysis of 373 nasopharyngeal samples. For the viruses of the DFA panel, detection rates of 27.6% and 23.8% were obtained by RVP and DFA, respectively, in analysis of a set of 297 samples collected in 2009–2010. These results show statistically significant superiority of the RVP Fast assay (P = 0.049). For RSV, hMPV, EV, and RV, detection rates of 48.0% and 45.2% were achieved by RVP and RT-PCR, respectively. For individual targets, increased detection of EV/RV (P = 0.043) and decreased detection of influenza A virus (P = 0.004) by RVP in comparison to real-time RT-PCR was observed. The results of the present study imply the need to adjust the InfA component of the RVP Fast assay to also cover the InfA(H1N1) 2009 virus.

► The RVP Fast assay gave valid results for 99.2% of samples in a clinical laboratory setting.
► The detection rate of RVP Fast was superior to DFA and comparable to real-time RT-PCR.
► RVP Fast detected more EVs/RVs than real-time RT-PCR.
► The RVP Fast assay needs adjustment to also cover the InfA (H1N1)2009 virus.