title: Comparison of the specificity of PCR and the histopathological detection of leishmania for the diagnosis of American cutaneous leishmaniasis.
abstract: More precise and rapid diagnostic methods for American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) are necessary because of the growing number of cases observed in Brazil, including the northeastern region of the State of São Paulo. We applied PCR to 54 skin or mucosal biopsies from patients with a clinical and/or laboratory diagnosis of ACL using primers 13A and 13B, with positive results being obtained for 82% of the samples. When the PCR results were compared to those of histopathological leishmania detection, PCR showed superior results with 81.5% sensitivity and 95% CI of 68.0-95.1%. The Montenegro skin test (MST) was positive in 88.7% of patients. Since MST cannot be used as a diagnostic tool in endemic areas, the present results strongly suggest the use of PCR for the etiological confirmation of ACL, with emphasis on the mucosal form.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia Molecular, Divisão de Dermatologia, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: A C R
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: A M F
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Roselino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007891:Leishmania / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D018105:DNA, Kinetoplast