Clinical usefulness of serum 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase for early diagnosis of viral infections among febrile adult patients

Abstract

Background This study aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of serum 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2-5AS) levels in diagnosing viral infection. Methods 2-5AS, procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) serum levels and leukocyte counts were evaluated in 104 febrile patients (26 viral and 55 bacterial infections, 23 non-infectious diseases). Results Assessment of areas under the receiver-operator characteristic curves revealed that 2-5AS and CRP levels and the age of the patient differentiated between viral and bacterial infections, 2-5AS levels differentiated between viral infection and non-infectious disease and PCT levels differentiated between bacterial infection and non-infectious disease. The decision tree constructed according to the results correctly classified the origin of fever in 88 of 104 patients (85%). Conclusions 2-5AS is a useful diagnostic biomarker for viral infections and combining it with the PCT and CRP levels and leukocyte counts improves determination of causes of fever.

Keywords:

• 2'-5'-Oligoadenylate synthetase
• procalcitonin
• viral infection
• decision tree

Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to Dr Atsushi Satomura, Division of Laboratory Medicine, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, and Dr Yukihiro Usukura, Department of Pediatrics Nihon University School of Medicine, for the confirmation of the final diagnosis of the patients.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.