A prospective, blinded study of quantitative touch-down polymerase chain reaction using oral-wash samples for diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia in HIV-infected patients.
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.
Larsen
Hans Henrik
HH
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. hhl@cphiv.dk.
Huang
Laurence
L
Kovacs
Joseph A
JA
Crothers
Kristina
K
Silcott
Victoria A
VA
Morris
Alison
A
Turner
Joan R
JR
Beard
Charles B
CB
Masur
Henry
H
Fischer
Steven H
SH
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
D004271:DNA, Fungal