Short-Term Stability of Pathogen-Specific Nucleic Acid Targets in Clinical Samples

The stability of pathogen-specific DNA or RNA amplification targets in clinical samples following short-term storage at room temperature, 4°C, and −80°C was assessed by real-time PCR. In purified nucleic acid extracts, both DNA and RNA targets were stable for up to 30 days, irrespective of storage temperature. In unextracted samples, temperature-dependent loss of targets ( P < 0.05) was observed in serum and cerebrospinal fluid specimens, while no changes were observed for EDTA blood samples.