TY - JOUR
T1 - Rapid and Low-Cost Culture-Based Method for Diagnosis of Mucormycosis Using a Mouse Model
AU - Vaezi, Afsane
AU - Fakhim, Hamed
AU - Ilkit, Macit
AU - Faeli, Leila
AU - Fakhar, Mahdi
AU - Alinejad, Vahid
AU - Wiederhold, Nathan P.
AU - Badali, Hamid
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Vaezi, Fakhim, Ilkit, Faeli, Fakhar, Alinejad, Wiederhold and Badali.
PY - 2020/3/20
Y1 - 2020/3/20
N2 - Prompt and targeted antifungal treatment has a positive impact on the clinical outcome of mucormycosis; however, current diagnostic tools used in histopathology laboratories often fail to provide rapid results. Rapid culture-based strategies for early diagnosis of Mucorales infections, which may influence treatment decisions, are urgently needed. Herein, we evaluated a microculture assay for the early diagnosis of mucormycosis in an immunocompetent murine model of disseminated infection, by comparing it with traditional diagnostic methods. The assay specificity was assessed using blood (n = 90) and tissue (n = 90) specimens obtained from mice infected with Rhizopus arrhizus using different inoculum sizes [1 × 104, 1 × 105, and 1 × 106 colony forming units (CFUs)/mouse] and blood (n = 15) and tissue specimens (n = 15) from uninfected mice. Surprisingly, 26 of 90 (28.9%) blood samples revealed positive results by microculture, whereas all blood samples were negative when assayed by conventional culture. The overall positive conventional culture rate for the mouse tissue (kidney) samples was 31.1% (28/90). The calculated sensitivity for kidney microculture was 98.8% [95% confidence interval (CI) 96.6–100], with an assay specificity of 100%. Hence, the microculture assay may be useful for rapid culturing and diagnosis of mucormycosis caused by R. arrhizus directly in blood and tissue samples. Hence, this method may allow for the timely administration of an appropriate treatment.
AB - Prompt and targeted antifungal treatment has a positive impact on the clinical outcome of mucormycosis; however, current diagnostic tools used in histopathology laboratories often fail to provide rapid results. Rapid culture-based strategies for early diagnosis of Mucorales infections, which may influence treatment decisions, are urgently needed. Herein, we evaluated a microculture assay for the early diagnosis of mucormycosis in an immunocompetent murine model of disseminated infection, by comparing it with traditional diagnostic methods. The assay specificity was assessed using blood (n = 90) and tissue (n = 90) specimens obtained from mice infected with Rhizopus arrhizus using different inoculum sizes [1 × 104, 1 × 105, and 1 × 106 colony forming units (CFUs)/mouse] and blood (n = 15) and tissue specimens (n = 15) from uninfected mice. Surprisingly, 26 of 90 (28.9%) blood samples revealed positive results by microculture, whereas all blood samples were negative when assayed by conventional culture. The overall positive conventional culture rate for the mouse tissue (kidney) samples was 31.1% (28/90). The calculated sensitivity for kidney microculture was 98.8% [95% confidence interval (CI) 96.6–100], with an assay specificity of 100%. Hence, the microculture assay may be useful for rapid culturing and diagnosis of mucormycosis caused by R. arrhizus directly in blood and tissue samples. Hence, this method may allow for the timely administration of an appropriate treatment.
KW - Rhizopus arrhizus
KW - microculture
KW - mucormycosis
KW - murine model
KW - rapid diagnosis
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U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00440
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00440
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85083162111
SN - 1664-302X
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
M1 - 440
ER -