Comparison of three cost effective staining methods for detection ofPneumocystis jirovecii.
Pneumocystispneumonia due toPneumocystis jiroveciiinfection is an emerging health problem not only for HIV-infected patients but also for other immunocompromised patients in many countries. We compared Gomori methenamine silver (GMS), Toluidine Blue O (TBO) and Giemsa staining methods using standard procedures. The sensitivity and specificity of GMS were 100 %. The sensitivity and specificity of TBO were 96 and 100 %, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of Giemsa stain were 84 and 90 %, respectively. Only GMS had positive and negative predictive values of 100 % while PPV and NPV for TBO were 100 and 90.9 %, and for Giemsa stain were 95.4 and 69.2 %, respectively. Therefore, our results suggest that if TBO or Geimsa stains are used as the primary staining methods in a clinical laboratory, then confirmation with a GMS staining method should be performed to increase the sensitivity and specificity of the final test result.
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohamad Mohsen
MM
Homayouni
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Ali
A
Rostami
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hamed
H
Gholizadeh
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Amir Sayed Ali
ASA
Mehbod
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Maryam
M
Ebrahimi
Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
Saeed
S
Mehravar
Pneumocystis jirovecii; Sensitivity; Specificity; Staining method