A New PCR-Based Assay for Testing Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Samples from Patients with Suspected Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia.

ABSTRACT: To support the clinical laboratory diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii (PJ) pneumonia (PCP), an invasive fungal infection mainly occurring in HIV-negative patients, in-house or commercial PJ-specific real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays are todays' reliable options. The performance of these assays depends on the type of PJ gene (multi-copy mitochondrial versus single-copy nuclear) targeted by the assay. We described the development of a PJ-PCR assay targeting the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)-encoding gene. After delineating its analytical performance, the PJ-PCR assay was used to test bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples from 200 patients (only seven were HIV positive) with suspected PCP. Of 211 BAL fluid samples, 18 (8.5%) were positive and 193 (91.5%) were negative by PJ-PCR.

SUBMITTER: Liotti FM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8466016 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature