ArticleBMC infectious diseases2013
Comparison of rectal swabs and faeces for real-time PCR detection of enteric agents in Rwandan children with gastroenteritis.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Global prevalence of asymptomatic norovirus infection in outbreaks: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Pooled it
- Prevalence and diversity of enteric pathogens among cholera treatment centre patients with acute diarrhea in Uvira, Democratic Republic of Congo.BMC infectious diseases · 2020Trial
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- OptimizingJournal of clinical microbiology · 2026Observational
- Highly viable gastrointestinal Chlamydia trachomatis in women abstaining from receptive anal intercourse.Scientific reports · 2025Article
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- Stool biomarkers as measures of enteric pathogen infection in infants from Addis Ababa informal settlements.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- High prevalence of small intestine bacteria overgrowth and asymptomatic carriage of enteric pathogens in stunted children in Antananarivo, Madagascar.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- New Developments in PCR-Based Diagnostics for Bacterial Pathogens Causing Gastrointestinal Infections-A Narrative Mini-Review on Challenges in the Tropics.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2021Review
- A Pilot Study Investigating the Expression Levels of Pluripotency-Associated Genes in Rectal Swab Samples for Colorectal Polyp and Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis.Stem cells international · 2021Article
- Rectal Swabs as an Alternative Sample Collection Method to Bulk Stool for the Real-Time PCR Detection ofThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2020Article
- Evaluation of the FecalSwab for Stool Specimen Storage and Molecular Detection of Enteropathogens on the BD Max System.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2020Article
- Evaluation of Anatomically Designed Flocked Rectal Swabs for Use with the BioFire FilmArray Gastrointestinal Panel for Detection of Enteric Pathogens in Children Admitted to Hospital with Severe Gastroenteritis.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2019Article
- Pigment Visibility on Rectal Swabs Used To Detect Enteropathogens: a Prospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2019Article
- Coinfection with Enteric Pathogens in East African Children with Acute Gastroenteritis-Associations and Interpretations.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2018Article
- Clinical Relevance of Gastrointestinal Microbiota During Pregnancy: A Primer for Nurses.Biological research for nursing · 2018Article
- A Novel Protocol Obviates Endoscope Sampling for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae: Experience of a Center with a Prior Outbreak.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2017Article
- Enteropathogen detection in children with diarrhoea, or vomiting, or both, comparing rectal flocked swabs with stool specimens: an outpatient cohort study.The lancet. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2017Article
- Slow Clearance of Norovirus following Infection with Emerging Variants of Genotype GII.4 Strains.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMolecular diagnostics have emerged as an efficient and feasible alternative for broad detection of pathogens in faeces. However, collection of stool samples is often impractical in both clinical work and in epidemiology studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of rectal swabs as compared with traditional faeces samples for detection of enteric agents by PCR.
methodThree hundred twenty-six pairs of rectal swab and stool samples, obtained from Rwandan children aged 0.5-4.99 years, with or without diarrhoea, were analysed by multiple real-time PCR amplifying 3 viral, 6 bacterial and one protozoan target.
resultsFor all agents there was a significant correlation (R2 0.31-0.85) between Ct values in faeces and rectal swabs. For most agents the Ct values, a marker for target concentration, were significantly lower (by 1-3 cycles) in faeces, indicating pathogen content up to ten times higher than in rectal swabs. Despite this, there was no significant difference in detection rate between faeces and rectal swabs for any agent, reflecting that pathogen concentration was far above the limit of detection in the majority of cases.
conclusionThe similar detection rates and the Ct value correlations as compared with traditional faeces samples indicate that rectal swabs are accurate for real-time PCR-based identification of enteric agents and may be used also for quantitative estimation of pathogen load.
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