Abstract

PANIZO, María Mercedes; ALARCON, Víctor; REVIAKINA, Vera  and  NAVAS, Trina. Evaluation of the nested PCR technique for Pneumocystis jirovecii diagnosis. Rev. Soc. Ven. Microbiol. [online]. 2009, vol.29, n.2, pp.136-139. ISSN 1315-2556.

A comparative study between the direct immunofluorescency technique (DIF) and the nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) was carried out in 62 samples taken from the lower respiratory tract in order to evaluate the nPCR technique for Pneumocystis jirovecii diagnosis. When comparing both techniques, nPCR showed 100% sensitivity, 79.2% specificity, 58.3% positive predictive value, 100% negative predictive value, and 84% of agreement with the DIF technique. nPCR used for pneumocystosis diagnosis successfully predicts absence of disease when the result is negative. With a positive result, the clinical condition of the patient should be taken into account since the test is not capable of discriminating between colonization and infection.

Keywords : Pneumocystis jirovecii; direct immunofluorescency; nested PCR.

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