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How long will the PCR remain to be positive in the treated and the non-treated case?

April 26, 2017Case non-treated PCR positive remain treated

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How long will the PCR remain to be positive in the treated and the non-treated case?

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Regarding the length of time a PCR might remain positive after treatment, you might want to refer to “Detection of Bordetella pertussis by polymerase chain reaction and culture in the nasopharynx of erythromycin-treated infants with pertussis” published by Edelman K, Nikkari S, Ruuskanen O, He Q, Viljanen M, Mertsola J. in the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal in 1996 Jan;15:54-7. Here is the abstract: BACKGROUND: Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease and the most serious effects occur in young infants. Recently it has been shown that rapid and highly specific PCR can be a useful diagnostic tool for detection of pertussis infection. To our knowledge there are no previous studies concerning the disappearance of Bordetella pertussis DNA from the nasopharynx during antimicrobial treatment. METHODS: We studied prospectively how rapidly live B. pertussis organisms and DNA of these bacteria disappear from the nasopharynx during erythromycin therapy in unvaccinated infants.