Research article Open access
Laboratory Performance and Clinical Correlation of Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction as a Diagnostic Test for Bordetella Pertussis Isolated from Patients in Oman
Objectives: To evaluate real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a diagnostic tool for pertussis (whooping cough), vis-à-vis culture, the long-time gold standard, with emphasis on the importance of clinical correlation in determining specificity. Methods: Nasopharyngeal/throat swab samples in charcoal media receive …