Enterovirus is not present in placentas from cases of perinatal depression using polymerase chain reaction analysis

Enteroviruses have been implicated as a cause of low Apgar scores in conjunction with perinatal seizures and respiratory insufficiency. Using in-situ reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (in-situ PCR), Nuovo et al detected enterovirus in up to 86% of placentas from perinates exhibiting these symptoms. In-situ PCR has been the only method employed to assess for the presence of enterovirus in this specific patient population. The purpose of our study was to use PCR amplification of enterovirus from extracted RNA to confirm these observations. RNA was extracted from 26 placentas of infants with low Apgar scores, perinatal seizures, and respiratory insufficiency. Each extraction was positive for beta-actin RNA, which confirmed that the integrity of RNA was maintained in the sample. Enterovirus RNA was not detected in any of the cases. Our results indicate that enterovirus is not present in placentas from neonates with the combination of low Apgar scores, respiratory insufficiency, and seizures, as previously reported.