Comparative Study and Analytical Verification of PCR Methods for the Diagnosis of Congenital Chagas Disease

Congenital infection is currently the first cause of new cases of Chagas disease in Argentina and nonendemic areas worldwide. Its diagnosis is of utmost importance to guarantee curative treatment. To improve such diagnosis, a transfer process of PCR tests to the national laboratory network has been initiated. We performed a comparative study of four PCR assays [two end-point PCR and two duplex real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) procedures] to detect Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in blood samples. Because satellite DNA and kinetoplastid DNA qPCR methods have the best performance and the use of two different molecular targets for confirmatory purposes has been recommended, these methods selected to perform the transfer process and, in consequence, subjected to an analytical verification protocol based on international guidelines.
Source: Journal of Molecular Diagnostics - Category: Pathology Authors: Tags: Regular Article Source Type: research