RSV Antigen

Test Code

RSV

Alias/See Also

Respiratory Syncytial Virus, RSV, RSV Ag Screen

Includes

Source, RSV

Preferred Specimen

3.0 mL Nasal Washing (0.5 mL minimum) or Fresh nasopharyngeal swab

Instructions

With the patient’s head hyper-extended, instill about 2.5 mL normal saline into one nostril with a bulb syringe.
Release the pressure on the bulb to aspirate the specimen back into the bulb.
Transfer the specimen to a sterile container.
Repeat the process on the other nostril and transfer the specimen into the same specimen container.
Deliver immediately to the Laboratory.

Transport Container

Sterile swab or sterile container for washes

Specimen Stability

Room temperature:

Swab: Deliver within 1 hour of collection; eluted swab samples can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 hours
Nasal Wash: 4 hours

Refrigerated:

Eluted Swab: 48 hours
Nasal Wash: 24 hours

Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)

Excessively bloody and or mucoid specimens are unacceptable.

Methodology
Binax NOW® Lateral-flow immunoassay

Limitations

Inadequate specimen collection or low levels of virus shedding may result in suboptimal performance and my yield false negative results. A negative test result does not exclude infection with RSV nor is it intended to rule out other microbial-cause respiratory infections. Results obtained with this assay, particularly in the case of weak test lines that are difficult to interpret, should be used in conjunction with other clinical information available to the physician. Monoclonal antibodies may not detect all antigenic variants or new strains of RSV.

Reference Range

Negative

Clinical Significance

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) causes upper and lower respiratory tract infections, and is generally recognized as the most frequent agent for lower respiratory tract infections including bronchiolitis, and a major cause of infant mortality. Approximately 90% of children have had one, and 50% of children have had two RSV infections by the age of two. RSV was the leading cause of infant hospitalization from 1997 to 2000 with charges totaling more than 2.6 billion dollars for those three years. The high risk groups include infants born prematurely, children with chronic lung or congenital heart disease, and those with compromised immune systems.

The CPT Codes provided in this document are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. CPT coding is the sole responsibility of the billing party. Please direct any questions regarding coding to the payor being billed. Any Profile/panel component may be ordered separately. Reflex tests are performed at an additional charge.