Abstracto

Correlation of Nucleic Acid Amplification Based Detection and Conventional Methods of Identification of Aspergillus Flavus Species in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Arpeeta Mazumdar, Shukla Das, Rumpa Saha, VG Ramachandran, N Gupta, S Sharma, and Sajad Dar

This study is an attempt to draw comparison between the traditional and molecular diagnostic tools to facilitate early diagnosis and management of cases of fungal rhinosinusitis.Fungal elements were identified in nasal lavage and polyp samples from chronic rhinosinusitis patients using KOH, culture and histopathological staining and were then subjected to PCR using appropriate primer pairs. A.flavuswas the predominant fungal isolate. There was an increase in detection rates using PCR as a diagnostic tool in nasal lavage samples as compared to its culture. The same was not true for polyp samples .Thus PCR was definitely more sensitive in nasal lavage samples for the detection of fungal elements. Aspergillus flavus was the commonest fungal isolate in cases of CRS. PCR on the nasal polyp/lavage samples shows promising results as it has the ability to detect even minute amounts of DNA if present, in the sample and is rapid. PCR in the nasal lavage samples has undoubtedly shown better and rapid results.