PERBANDINGAN TINGKAT KESESUAIAN ANTARA SPESIMEN SWAB HIDUNG DAN SWAB TENGGOROK UNTUK MENDETEKSI VIRUS INFLUENZA A DENGAN METODE REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (RT-PCR)

Abstract

Background: In the purpose of diagnosing influenza rapidly and accurately, both good method and specimen type are required. Throat swab and nasal swab are the most frequent specimens used in clinical application. The objective of this study is to find out the agreement level between nasal swab and throat swab specimens for detection of influenza A virus by RT-PCR method. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed nasal and throat swab sample from Influenza Like Illness (ILI) patients in Cirebon, Malang, Boyolali, and Solo which came to Regional Laboratory of Avian Influenza Semarang in the period of September 2007 to May 2008. Influenza A virus detected by RT-PCR method has a positive result if the value of CT ranged between 20-40 and the amplification curve reveals a good slope. Data were analyzed by Kappa agreement test using SPSS 15.0 for Windows. Results: From 446 samples, 93 samples of throat swab (20.9%) and 92 samples of nasal swab (20.6%) were influenza A positive. The value of Kappa was 0.298. Conclusion: There is inadequate agreement level between nasal and throat swab specimen to be a base for recommending the use of one specimen as a single sample. The specimens can not substitute each other, but both specimens are complementary. Keywords: Influenza A virus, Throat swab, Nasal swab, RT-PCR