title: Influence of neurotoxoplasmosis characteristics on real-time PCR sensitivity among AIDS patients in Brazil.
abstract: Cerebral toxoplasmosis among individuals with AIDS may be difficult to diagnose and needs to be differentiated from other neurological diseases. A validation study was performed on real-time PCR for detecting the B1 gene of Toxoplasma gondii in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of AIDS patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis. The study included 135 AIDS patients divided into two groups: Group I comprised 85 patients with neurotoxoplasmosis; and Group II comprised 50 patients with non-toxoplasmic neurological diseases. Real-time PCR on blood showed a sensitivity of 1.5%, specificity of 100.0%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 100.0% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 36.5%. CSF testing produced better results, with a sensitivity of 35.3%, specificity of 100.0%, PPV of 100.0% and NPV of 44.7%. The group presenting with pleocytosis and four or more encephalic lesions was associated with greater CSF positivity on PCR. In conclusion, real-time PCR on blood was not useful for diagnosis. CSF testing showed low sensitivity but high specificity. Greater numbers of lesions and greater CSF cellularity may improve the sensitivity of the method.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Tropical, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil. carolina.dra@gmail.com
authors.forename: Carolina C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: Heloísa R L
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.forename: Vláudia M A
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D005260:Female; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016781:Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan