Evaluation of a panfungal PCR assay for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP)

We compared a universal fungal PCR assay with fluorescence microscopy for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. 82 bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) of 64 immunocompromised patients with atypical pneumonia and 50 BALs of 50 immunocompetent adults without lung disease were examined. 10 immunocompromised patients were clinically and/or histologically proven to suffer from PCP. For fluorescence microscopy, sensitivity and specificity in detecting P. carinii were 80.0% and 98.1%, for the PCR assay 100.0% and 96.2%, respectively. The PCR assay is a useful method for the diagnosis of PCP and is recommended as an additional test to microscopical methods.