A comparison of three methods for detecting Candida albicans in patients with Sjögren's syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
An immediate chairside technique (Latex Candida) for the detection of Candida albicans was compared with a simple tube culturing technique (Oricult) and the traditional laboratory culturing technique in patients with Sjögren's syndrome.


METHODS
Subjects with primary (n = 9) and secondary (n = 9) Sjögren's syndrome (mean age of 56.7 years; all female) and an age- and sex-matched group of control subjects (n = 9) were selected. Three different methods for culturing Candida albicans were performed for each subject. One culturette was plated on a trypticase soy-agar streptomycin-vancomycin medium plate and incubated for 48 hours at 37 degrees C. Another swab was plated on a reagent paper with the Latex Candida test kit. The third swab was placed in a culture media tube using the Oricult kit and incubated for 48 hours at 37 degrees C.


RESULTS
All three techniques indicated a significant difference in the prevalence of Candida between the control group and both Sjögren's groups. The Latex Candida technique indicated that 78% of all Sjögren's subjects were positive for Candida, while the other two tests indicated that 83% were positive.


CONCLUSIONS
The Latex Candida technique was comparable to Oricult and streptomycin-vancomycin culturing techniques for negative results and was correctly positive for 90% of cases.
Rhodus
N L
NL
Division of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. rhodu001@maroon.tc.umn.edu
Bloomquist
C
C
Liljemark
W
W
Bereuter
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003470:Culture Media; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*
D003470:Culture Media; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic