[The role of the laboratory in the diagnosis and prevention of fungal infections].
Fungal infections account for an increasing fraction of nosocomial infections. The laboratory is essential to ascertain the diagnosis. Significant progress has been recently achieved in direct diagnostic tools (better sensitivity of direct examination, development of chromogenic identification media). Diagnostic sensitivity of blood cultures can be increased with the use of special fungal media for culture. However, indirect diagnostic methods remain unsatisfactory, even though some new data support the usefulness of simultaneous detection of circulating antigens and corresponding antibodies. In the future, the contribution of molecular biology techniques could be of great interest, either in the diagnostic (detection of fungal DNA in the serum) or in the identification of species. Last but not least, molecular typing allows a precise monitoring of fungal ecology that could prove useful to the understanding of the physiopathology of infections and to the anticipation and prevention of epidemic outbreaks.
Hennequin
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Service de parasitologie, mycologie et médecine des voyages, centre hospitalier universitaire d'Amiens, 80054 Amiens, France. chennequin@yahoo.com
D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D009181:Mycoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*