Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Hand-foot-and-mouth disease laboratory tests
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Physical examination is usually diagnostic for hand foot and mouth disease. However, throat swabs, swabs from the lesion and Tzanck test to rule out herpes simplex infection can be done.
Laboratory Findings
Laboratory Findings
- Throat swabs or swabs from the lesions can be sent for culture of virus or other immunological studies. Since the testing often takes 2 to 4 weeks to obtain the results and therefore not done.[1]
- Tzanck test is performed to exclude herpes simplex infection.
References
References
- ↑ Teo, Fiona Mei Shan; Chu, Justin Jang Hann (2016). “Diagnosis of human enteroviruses that cause hand, foot and mouth disease”. Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy. 14 (5): 443–445. doi:10.1586/14787210.2016.1173543. ISSN 1478-7210.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]