title: Merits and pitfalls of currently used diagnostic tools in mycetoma.
abstract: Treatment of mycetoma depends on the causative organism and since many organisms, both actinomycetes (actinomycetoma) and fungi (eumycetoma), are capable of producing mycetoma, an accurate diagnosis is crucial. Currently, multiple diagnostic tools are used to determine the extent of infections and to identify the causative agents of mycetoma. These include various imaging, cytological, histopathological, serological, and culture techniques; phenotypic characterisation; and molecular diagnostics. In this review, we summarize these techniques and identify their merits and pitfalls in the identification of the causative agents of mycetoma and the extent of the disease. We also emphasize the fact that there is no ideal diagnostic tool available to identify the causative agents and that future research should focus on the development of new and reliable diagnostic tools.
authors.affiliation: ErasmusMC, Department of Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wendy W J
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: van de Sande
authors.affiliation: Mycetoma Research Centre, University of Khartoum, Soba University Hospital, Sudan.
authors.forename: Ahmed H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Fahal
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goodfellow
authors.affiliation: Mycetoma Research Centre, University of Khartoum, Soba University Hospital, Sudan.
authors.forename: El Sheikh
authors.initials: el S
authors.lastname: Mahgoub
authors.affiliation: Dr. Jose E Gonzalez University Hospital, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Department of Dermatology, Ave Madero y Ave Gonzalitos, Colonia Mitras Centro, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
authors.forename: Oliverio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.affiliation: Rotterdam Centre for Tropical Medicine, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ed E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Zijlstra
mesh_terms: D005658:Fungi / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008271:Mycetoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D009172:Mycology / Q000379:methods*; D057089:Pathology, Molecular / Q000379:methods*