Article
Comparison of polymerase chain reaction with other laboratory methods for the diagnosis of American cutaneous leishmaniasis: diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis by polymerase chain reaction
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MARQUES, Marcos Jose et al. Comparison of polymerase chain reaction with other laboratory methods for the diagnosis of American cutaneous leishmaniasis: diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis by polymerase chain reaction. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2006 Jan;54(1):37-43.
0732-8893
Author
Marques, Marcos José
Volpini, Angela Cristina
Coelho, George Luiz Lins Machado
Pinto, Jackson Machado
Costa, Carlos A. da
Mayrink, Wilson
Genaro, Odair
Romanha, Álvaro José
Abstract
An evaluation of 5 laboratory methods for diagnosing American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) was carried out on patients from an endemic area of Brazil. From 164 patients presenting cutaneous lesions, and suspected to have ACL, 133 (81.1%) were confirmed for the disease by Montenegro skin test (MST) and/or parasitologic examination (PE). In both groups of patients, the positivity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was similar to that of immunofluorescence assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and higher than that of MST and PE (P < .05). In the group of patients suspected to have ACL, PCR presented the same positivity as PE and MST together. No correlation between positivity of the laboratory methods and clinical or epidemiologic aspects was observed. Our data confirmed the value of PCR as an alternative laboratory method for diagnosing ACL, especially for those patients with negative PE and MST.