MULTIPLEX PCR TRONG PHÁT HIỆN TÁC NHÂN GÂY TIÊU CHẢY KÉO DÀI NHIỄM KHUẨN TẠI BỆNH VIỆN NHI TRUNG ƯƠNG

Abstract

Infectious persistent diarrhea in children remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge in developing countries. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 158 children with persistent diarrhea at the Vietnam National Children's Hospital to evaluate the effectiveness of Multiplex Real-time PCR in detecting enteric pathogens. The study detected pathogens in 25.3% (40/158) of samples, with single bacterial infections accounting for 47.5%, bacterial-viral coinfections 30.0%, and single viral infections 22.5%. Clostridium difficile was the most prevalent pathogen (12 cases), followed by Norovirus (10 cases) and Campylobacter spp. (9 cases). Notably, the C. difficile group showed the highest rate of prior antibiotic use (75%). The predominant clinical features were frequent diarrhea (≥6 episodes/day) and mucoid stools. This study confirms that Multiplex Real-time PCR is an effective tool for diagnosing persistent diarrhea in children, enabling simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens and accurate identification of coinfection rates, thereby contributing to improved therapeutic outcomes.