Abstract

MARCANO-LOZADA, Marcel; SERRANO, Noris  and  URRESTARAZU, María Isabel. The Tzanck’s test as a diagnosis tool in skin lesions: Preliminary study. Rev. Soc. Ven. Microbiol. [online]. 2006, vol.26, n.1, pp.27-30. ISSN 1315-2556.

Tzanck’s Test is a diagnostic method in Herpesvirus infections by showing the presence of giant multinucleated cells. It greatest success has been in vesicular lesions. The purpose of this work was to establish the usefulness of Tzanck’s Test as a complementary diagnostic tool in the clinic in patients with suspicious dermatological lesions, emphasizing its use in Human Immunodeficiency Virus seropositive patients (HIV). The patients included were 92 (40 females/52 males) studied at the Microbiology Laboratory of the Instituto de Biomedicina between the years 2000 and 2004 in whom we used Tzanck’s Test in ulcer secretion and vesicle decapitation samples. 28 of the patients were HIV positive. Tzanck’s Test was positive in 32/92 patients (35%), with no statistically significant difference according to the type of sample. Of the 18 ulcerous lesions studied, 32% were positive. There were no differences in Tzanck’s Test positivity according to the HIV condition of the patients. It is concluded that Tzanck’s Test is useful as a fast diagnostic method in viral etiology dermatological lesions, with special interest in ulcerous lesions of VIH positive patients.

Keywords : Tzanck’s test; Ulcers; HIV.