title: A prospective, blinded study of quantitative touch-down polymerase chain reaction using oral-wash samples for diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia in HIV-infected patients.
abstract: Oral-wash samples obtained during 113 episodes of suspected Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients were tested by use of a quantitative touch-down PCR (QTD PCR) assay. QTD PCR had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 85%. Treatment for PCP prior to oral wash collection had an impact on the sensitivity, and PCR-positive oral-wash samples obtained within < or =1 day of treatment from patients without PCP had significantly fewer copies per tube than did those from patients with PCP; thus, application of a post hoc cut-off value of 50 copies/tube increased the specificity to 100%. QTD PCR of oral-wash samples can be an accurate and noninvasive method for diagnosis of PCP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. hhl@cphiv.dk.
authors.forename: Hans Henrik
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kovacs
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Crothers
authors.forename: Victoria A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Silcott
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Joan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Charles B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Beard
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masur
authors.forename: Steven H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Fischer
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000032:analysis; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D011010:Pneumocystis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal