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Aseptic meningitis occurs commonly in the summer and fall; its benign prognosis distinguishes it from other central nervous system infections. The usual culprit is an enterovirus, but until recently, a specific diagnosis could be made only with a fairly insensitive cell-culture technique. Researchers in a pediatric hospital assessed the effect of a newly available test -- a PCR assay for enterovirus in cerebrospinal fluid -- on patient management. They reviewed the hospital courses of 276 children for whom the test had been ordered.
Among 187 children with test results available before discharge, results were positive in 95 and negative in 92. Children with positive results had shorter median hospital stays (42 vs. 71.5 hours), fewer median …