Timely identification of etiological agents of enteric infections is necessary to reduce the burden of infantile diarrheal mortality. Nucleic acid amplification–based detection methods offer a quick, reliable way for diagnosis of microbes in clinical specimens. This study was undertaken to evaluate an easy-to-use, cost-effective multiplex conventional reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay developed at the Indian Council of Medical Research–National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases virology laboratory to identify 4 common enteric viruses (rotavirus, norovirus, adenovirus, astrovirus) in stool samples from patients who were being evaluated for acute diarrhea. On comparison with a commercially available real-time PCR method, significant agreement in sensitivity and specificity was observed. Though the turnaround time for RT-PCR was 6–8 h compared to 5–6 h for real-time PCR, the real-time PCR has high test cost (approximately 28 USD/2000 INR) for Fast-Track Diagnostics kit–based quantitative RT-PCR versus 6 USD or 400 INR for conventional multiplex RT-PCR/sample. Thus, the conventional RT-PCR method is expected to be adaptable at local hospitals and health cares in resource-poor settings.

及时确定肠感染的病原体对于减轻婴儿腹泻死亡的负担是必要的。基于核酸扩增的检测方法提供了一种快速，可靠的方法来诊断临床标本中的微生物。这项研究的目的是评估一种易于使用，具有成本效益的多重常规逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析方法，该方法是在印度医学研究理事会–霍乱和肠道疾病国家病毒学实验室实验室开发的，用于鉴定接受腹泻评估的患者粪便样本中有4种常见的肠病毒（轮状病毒，诺如病毒，腺病毒，星形病毒）。与可商购的实时PCR方法相比，在敏感性和特异性上有明显的一致性。尽管RT-PCR的周转时间为6-8小时，而实时PCR的周转时间为5-6小时，但基于Fast-Track Diagnostics套件的实时PCR的测试成本较高（约28 USD / 2000 INR）定量RT-PCR与常规多重RT-PCR /样品的6 USD或400 INR相比。因此，传统的RT-PCR方法有望在资源匮乏的地区适应当地的医院和医疗机构。