title: Postmortem diagnosis of Fusarium panophthalmitis by the polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We undertook this study to determine if a polymerase chain reaction-based test that we developed for the filamentary fungus, Fusarium, could be used to detect the organism in postmortem ocular tissues.
  
  
  METHODS
  We applied the polymerase chain reaction to amplify a target fragment of Fusarium DNA from formalin-fixed ocular tissues from a patient with endogenous Fusarium panophthalmitis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By using the polymerase chain reaction-based test, we were able to amplify the target fragment of DNA from the infected eyes, but not from uninfected control eyes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The technique appears to hold promise to be a sensitive, specific, and rapid method of diagnosing Fusarium infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alexandrakis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sears
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gloor
mesh_terms: D015139:Blotting, Southern; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis; D005123:Eye / Q000382:microbiology; D015821:Eye Infections, Fungal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D005670:Fusarium / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009181:Mycoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D010202:Panophthalmitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal