Validation of respiratory syncytial virus enzyme immunoassay and shell vial assay results.

The Pathfinder respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (Kallestad), the shell vial (SV) technique, and conventional cell culture (CC) were compared for detection of RSV in nasopharyngeal aspirates. We found sensitivities, specificities, and positive and negative predictive values of 58.4, 100, 100, and 68.2%; 80.7, 97.2, 97.0, and 81.9%; and 77.6, 97.2, 96.9, and 79.5% for the CC, EIA, and SV methods, respectively. The SV and EIA techniques were both more sensitive than CC (P < 0.001). Finally, 29 respiratory viruses other than RSV were identified by CC.