Catten M D, Murr A H, Goldstein J A, Mhatre A N, Lalwani A K
Laboratory of Molecular Otology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0342, USA.
Laryngoscope. 2001 Mar;111(3):399-403. doi: 10.1097/00005537-200103000-00006.
Fungi have been increasingly recognized as important pathogens in sinusitis. However, detection of fungus with conventional culture techniques is insensitive and unreliable. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an exquisitely sensitive assay that can detect the DNA of 10 or less fungal elements. The aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity of conventional culture techniques using PCR analysis.
Nasal swabs and DNA samples were collected from the nasal cavities of control subjects and patients with chronic sinusitis. Fungal-specific PCR analysis and standard cultures were performed on every sample. chi2 analysis was used to test for statistical differences between groups.
PCR analysis detected fungal DNA in 42% and 40% of control subjects and patients with chronic sinusitis while standard cultures were positive in 7% and 0%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of fungi in the normal volunteers and patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.
PCR is significantly more sensitive than nasal swab cultures in detecting the presence of fungi in nasal mucosa. In addition, our study suggests that the presence of fungi alone is insufficient to implicate it as the pathogen in chronic sinusitis.
真菌日益被认为是鼻窦炎的重要病原体。然而，用传统培养技术检测真菌不敏感且不可靠。聚合酶链反应（PCR）是一种极其灵敏的检测方法，能够检测到10个或更少真菌成分的DNA。本研究的目的是通过PCR分析比较传统培养技术的敏感性。
从对照受试者和慢性鼻窦炎患者的鼻腔采集鼻拭子和DNA样本。对每个样本进行真菌特异性PCR分析和标准培养。采用卡方分析检验组间的统计学差异。
PCR分析在42%的对照受试者和40%的慢性鼻窦炎患者中检测到真菌DNA，而标准培养的阳性率分别为7%和0%。正常志愿者和慢性鼻-鼻窦炎患者中真菌的患病率无统计学显著差异。
在检测鼻黏膜中真菌的存在方面，PCR比鼻拭子培养显著更敏感。此外，我们的研究表明，仅真菌的存在不足以将其认定为慢性鼻窦炎的病原体。
