Comparison between polymerase chain reaction and fungal culture for the detection of fungi in patients with chronic sinusitis and normal controls.
CONCLUSIONS
PCR using panfungal gene primers is a more sensitive method for fungus detection than fungus culture, both in patients with chronic sinusitis and in normal controls. The presence of fungi alone, however, was insufficient to implicate them as pathogens in chronic sinusitis.


OBJECTIVE
Previous findings have suggested that polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods are more sensitive and reliable than conventional culture methods for the detection of fungal DNA. We therefore compared these methods in 82 patients with chronic sinusitis and 40 normal controls.


METHODS
The noses of the subjects were irrigated with sterile saline, and the samples collected. The sediment from each irrigation was used for fungus culture and PCR analysis.


RESULTS
PCR analysis using panfungal gene primers showed that 76/82 (92.5%) patients with chronic sinusitis and 39/40 (97.5%) normal controls were positive. In contrast, fungus cultures were positive in 19/82 (23.2%) patients with chronic sinusitis and 12/40 (30.0%) normal controls. We observed no significant between-group differences in the prevalence of fungus or in the fungal species detected.
Kim
Sun Tae
ST
Department of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery, Gil Medical Center, Gachon Medical School, Inch'on, South Korea.
Choi
Jin Ho
JH
Jeon
Heung Gyu
HG
Cha
Heung Eog
HE
Hwang
Yu Jin
YJ
Chung
Yoo-Sam
YS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology*
D017931:DNA Primers