Journal
DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Volume 56, Issue 2, Pages 153-160Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2006.03.010
Keywords
Pneumocystis jiroveci; nested PCR; real-time PCR
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Funding
- NIAID NIH HHS [1R01 AI 46966] Funding Source: Medline
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A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based test for Pneumocystis jiroveci (formerly Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. hominis) might be an alternative to histologic diagnoses of P jiroveci pneumonia (PCP). However, previously developed nested PCR methods tend to have low specificities (high false-positive rates). In this study, nested and quantitative real-time PCR methods for the amplification of the P.jiroveci DHPS (dihydropteroate synthase) gene were evaluated in a variety of stored clinical samples from Spain, South Africa, and Brazil. The sensitivities of both assays were high, ranging from 62.5% to 100% depending on the type of specimen. In a subset of 71 microscopically confirmed PCP cases and 70 negative cases, the sensitivities and specificities were 94% and 81% for nested PCR and 94% and 96% for real-time PCR, respectively. Real-time PCR has a statistically significantly better specificity than nested PCR (P = .015) and is likely to generate fewer false positives. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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