Analytical performance of the BD veritor™ system for rapid detection of influenza virus A and B in a primary healthcare setting

BACKGROUND: Infections with influenza A virus cannot be clinically differentiated from infections caused by influenza B virus or other respiratory viruses. Additionally, although antiviral treatment is available for influenza A virus, it is not effective for the other viruses and must be initiated early in the course of disease for it to be effective. For these reasons, there is a need for a rapid, accurate diagnostic test for use in physicians’ offices at the time patients are seen. We report the first field performance of BD Veritor™ System for Rapid Detection of Flu A + B test compared to real time PCR. The performance of this test was compared to real time PCR performed in the Istanbul University Influenza Reference Laboratory. METHOD: A single-blinded cross sectional study was conducted in nine different family medicine centers in Istanbul, Turkey between 01 November 2014 and 01 May 2015. For every patient, two specimens were collected, one for real time PCR and one for the Veritor test. Specimens for the Veritor test were immediately tested at the participating clinic according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The specimens for real time PCR were transferred to the reference laboratory. RESULTS: A total of 238 persons were included in the study: 72 (30 %) of the patients included in the study were below 19 years old and accepted as childhood group. Mean age of adults was 42.4 and children 10.2 years. A total of 122 patients out of 238 were positive for influenza. The clinical sensitivity and specificity of the Veritor test in all age groups was determined to be 80 and 94 %, respectively. Positive predictive value was 93 % and the negative one was 81 %. CONCLUSION: Field performance of the rapid influenza test was high and found to be useful with respect to rational antiviral use, avoiding unnecessary antibiotic usage and the management of cases by the family physicians.