Usefulness of the early molecular diagnosis of Q fever and rickettsial diseases in patients with fever of intermediate duration

Margarita Bolaños-Rivero; Cristina Carranza-Rodríguez; Michele Hernández-Cabrera; Elena Pisos-Álamo; Nieves Jaén-Sánchez; José-Luis Pérez-Arellano

doi:10.1016/j.eimc.2016.02.026

Usefulness of the early molecular diagnosis of Q fever and rickettsial diseases in patients with fever of intermediate duration

Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin. 2017 Dec;35(10):655-658. doi: 10.1016/j.eimc.2016.02.026. Epub 2016 Mar 26.

[Article in English, Spanish]

Authors

Margarita Bolaños-Rivero¹, Cristina Carranza-Rodríguez², Michele Hernández-Cabrera², Elena Pisos-Álamo², Nieves Jaén-Sánchez², José-Luis Pérez-Arellano³

Affiliations

¹ Servicio de Microbiología y Parasitología, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular-Materno Infantil de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España.
² Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Medicina Tropical, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular-Materno Infantil de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España; Departamento de Ciencias Médicas y Quirúrgicas, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España.
³ Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Medicina Tropical, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular-Materno Infantil de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España; Departamento de Ciencias Médicas y Quirúrgicas, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 27026285
DOI: 10.1016/j.eimc.2016.02.026

Abstract

Most cases of fever of intermediate duration (FDI) in Spain are associated with infectious diseases (mainly Q fever and rickettsia infections). In clinical practice, the causal diagnosis of these entities is based on immunodiagnostic techniques, which are of little help in the early stages. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of molecular techniques for the early diagnosis of Q fever and rickettsia diseases in patients with FDI. A PCR method was used to detect the presence of genetic material of Coxiella burnetii and Rickettsia spp. in blood specimens from 271 patients with FDI. The specificity of both techniques is high, allowing diagnosis in cases undiagnosed by specific antibodies detection. These data suggest that the use of molecular techniques, with proper selection of the study specimen, and using appropriate primers is a useful tool in the early diagnosis of the main causes of FDI, especially if serology is negative or inconclusive.

Keywords: Coxiella burnetii; Fever of intermediate duration; Fiebre de duración intermedia; PCR; Rickettsia spp..

Publication types

Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

Bacteremia / diagnosis
Bacteremia / microbiology
Coxiella burnetii / genetics
Coxiella burnetii / isolation & purification
Cytomegalovirus Infections / diagnosis
DNA, Bacterial / blood*
Diagnosis, Differential
Early Diagnosis
Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / diagnosis
Fever / etiology*
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
Humans
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques*
Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
Predictive Value of Tests
Q Fever / diagnosis*
Rickettsia / genetics
Rickettsia / isolation & purification
Rickettsia Infections / diagnosis*
Sensitivity and Specificity
Serologic Tests
Time Factors

Substances

DNA, Bacterial