Testing for Respiratory Viruses in Adults With Severe Lower Respiratory Infection

Abstract

Viral pathogens are a common cause of severe lower respiratory tract infection in adults. Our ability to rapidly and accurately identify viral infections has dramatically improved as slow culture-based techniques have been largely replaced by multiplex high-throughput systems. Given these advances, reevaluation of the role of respiratory viral testing in adults presenting with lower respiratory tract infection is important. This article reviews the potential benefits of testing, provides an overview of the most commonly used diagnostic techniques, and considers whether current evidence supports routine testing.

Keywords: diagnostic testing; pneumonia; viral disease.

Figure 1

Posteroanterior chest radiograph in a middle-aged immunosuppressed male patient with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to respiratory syncytial virus demonstrating multifocal basilar predominant airspace opacities.