PCR-based diagnosis of a case of herpetic whitlow in an AIDS patient.
Herpetic infections are common complications in AIDS patients. The clinical features could be uncommon and antiviral chemotherapy is imperative. A rapid diagnosis could prevent incorrect approaches and treatment. The polymerase chain reaction is a rapid, specific and sensible method for DNA amplification and diagnosis of infectious diseases, especially viral diseases. This approach has some advantages compared with conventional diagnostic procedures. Recently we have reported a new PCR protocol to rapid diagnosis of herpetic infections with suppression of the DNA extraction step. In this paper we present a case of herpetic whitlow with rapid diagnosis by HSV-1 specific polymerase chain reaction using the referred protocol.
Nogueira
M L
ML
Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
Oliveira
A F
AF
Araujo
J G
JG
Gallo
M A
MA
Fonseca
J G
JG
Bonjardim
C A
CA
Ferreira
P C
PC
Kroon
E G
EG
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D000328:Adult; D005385:Fingers / Q000821:virology; D006229:Hand Dermatoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction