General Approaches for Direct and Indirect Detection and Identification of Fungi

Abstract

The frequency with which invasive fungal infections (IFIs) occur has markedly increased over the past decade. The ability to rapidly detect and identify the causative fungal agents is essential for the successful management of IFIs. The ability to detect fungi in clinical material depends on several factors, including the quality of the specimen that is received into the laboratory. Microscopic examination of specimens can be carried out with either unfixed specimens or fixed, stained specimens. The use of unfixed specimens has the advantages of being quick and relatively simple to carry out; the use of fixed, stained specimens may highlight features specific to certain fungi and also the host response in tissue, but they take longer to process and hence may delay reporting. Detection of antibodies targeting fungal pathogens may be useful in a range of IFIs, particularly when they occur in immunocompetent patients; however, these assays may have limited use in significantly immunocompromised patients.