DNA-based detection for onychomycosis correlates better to histopathology than does fungal culture

We describe a real-time PCR assay for 15 different fungi that are associated with onychomycosis. Of 425 clinical samples suspected of onychomycosis analyzed by fungal culture and PCR, 219 samples were positive for both (52% agreement). Of the 206 discordant samples, 95% were resolved in favor of PCR by DNA sequencing. On a larger data set of 2,452 samples, positivity rates for histopathology, PCR, and culture were 85%, 73%, and 54% respectively. Further, 48% of PCR positive and 51% of histopathology positive samples were negative by culture. PCR outperformed culture compared to histopathology...
Source: Dermatology Online Journal - Category: Dermatology Source Type: research