title: Utility of PCR in diagnosis of invasive fungal infections: real-life data from a multicenter study.
abstract: Prospective studies addressing the clinical value of broad-range PCR using the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) for diagnosis of microscopy-negative fungal infections in nonselected patient populations are lacking. We first assessed the diagnostic performance of ITS rRNA gene PCR compared with that of routine microscopic immunofluorescence examination. Second, we addressed prospectively the impact and clinical value of broad-range PCR for the diagnosis of infections using samples that tested negative by routine microscopy; the corresponding patients' data were evaluated by detailed medical record reviews. Results from 371 specimens showed a high concordance of >80% for broad-range PCR and routine conventional methods, indicating that the diagnostic performance of PCR for fungal infections is comparable to that of microscopy, which is currently considered part of the "gold standard." In this prospective study, 206 specimens with a negative result on routine microscopy were analyzed with PCR, and patients' clinical data were reviewed according to the criteria of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group. We found that broad-range PCR showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 57.1%, 97.0%, 80%, and 91.7%, respectively, for microscopy-negative fungal infections. This study defines a possible helpful role of broad-range PCR for diagnosis of microscopy-negative fungal infections in conjunction with other tests.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. cornelia.lass-floerl@i-med.ac.at
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lass-Flörl
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mutschlechner
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aigner
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grif
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marth
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Girschikofsky
authors.forename: Wilhelm
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Grander
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greil
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Russ
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cerkl
authors.forename: Mirjam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eller
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kropshofer
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eschertzhuber
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kathrein
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Beer
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Theurl
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nachbaur
mesh_terms: D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D009172:Mycology / Q000379:methods*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer