Utility of CDC DENV1–4 real time PCR assay and trioplex assay for the diagnosis of dengue in patients with acute febrile illness

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have revolutionized reliable detection of dengue virus (DENV) during acute phase of infection. The study evaluated performance of CDC DENV-1–4 real-time assay, trioplex RT-PCR and heminested conventional RT-PCR assay in the diagnosis of DENV. The three NAATs were performed on 107 consecutive samples collected from patients suspected of DENV infection during acute phase of illness. Their performance was compared against composite reference standard, consisting of DENV NS1 antigen ELISA and DENV IgM ELISA. 88/107 study samples were positive by DENV ELISA, either NS1Ag (80), IgM (3) or both (5). The overall sensitivity of CDC DENV-1–4 RT-PCR assay, trioplex RT-PCR assay and conventional multiplex RT-PCR was 68.18%, 54.55% and 38.64%, respectively in diagnosing dengue during acute phase, with an area under the curve of 0.841, 0.773 and 0.693 respectively when compared against composite reference standard. The sensitivity was 82.93%, 73.17% and 51.22%, respectively within three days of illness and 60%, 42.86% and 28.57%, respectively between 4 and 5th day of illness. All the three molecular assays had 100% specificity. Maximum concordance values of 86.9% were recorded among CDC DENV-1–4 rRT-PCR assay and trioplex assay with kappa value of 0.74, suggestive of substantial agreement. CDC DENV-1–4 rRT-PCR assay can be used as a reliable and accurate test for diagnosis of DENV during acute phase of illness.