Demonstration and utility of clustered pseudohyphae on Gram-stained smears from Candida albicans-positive blood cultures.
The presence of clustered and branched pseudohyphae was investigated on Gram-stained smears of 78 consecutive yeast-positive blood cultures. The accuracy of the method was 96.1%, with a positive predictive value of 96.6% for Candida albicans. These findings demonstrate that the presence of clustered and branched pseudohyphae on Gram stain may be used for the rapid and presumptive identification of C. albicans from yeast-positive blood culture bottles.
Microbiology Laboratory, Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers, New York, NY 10011, USA. mdoymaz@svcmcny.org
Mehmet
M
Doymaz
Carmen
C
Yampierre
Georgio
G
Tarchini
William
W
Riley
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D025301:Hyphae / Q000166:cytology*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009172:Mycology / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D055815:Young Adult