By Meaghan Lee Callaghan
Managing pediatric diarrhea can be a lot easier when polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are used in addition to a culture test, according to new research presented at ASM Microbe 2025.
In the study, conducted at Rainbow Children’s Hospital in Hyderabad, India, pediatric patients under 5 years of age saw an extended yield of results when their samples were tested with bacterial culture and multiplex PCR—using the Altona Flexstar real-time PCR test—instead of culture alone without PCR.
Lead researcher Dr. Vijendra Kawle told Infectious Disease Special Edition that with the addition of PCR results, children can avoid unneeded use of antibiotics in the case of viral infections, or antibiotics course that would be unsuccessful for resistant bacteria. “Integrating PCR testing into the diagnostic process will help know the causative pathogen and co-infections, helping to avoid overt use of antibiotics in the case of viral infections or self limiting diarrheal illnesses,” he said.
Dr. Kawle’s poster, “Acute Infectious Diarrhea in Children under Five - Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, Conventional and Molecular Diagnosis: A Cross-Sectional Study from India,” was presented Friday, June 20 at ASM Microbe 2025.
