Evaluation of 18S rRNA PCR in the Diagnosis of Neonatal Fungal Sepsis

Abstract

Neonatal fungal infections constitute a significant disease burden in India. In the absence of an ideal diagnostic test for the detection of fungal sepsis, the management of sepsis remains enigmatic. At present, blood culture is the method of choice for neonatal fungal sepsis, but it is not 100% sensitive. Together with the requirement for prolonged incubation, blood cultures are of limited utility in investigating neonates for invasive fungal infections, and especially for guiding initial therapy. For quite some time, molecular methods based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detecting microorganisms are gaining prominence in clinical practice, particularly due to their precision, specificity, sensitivity, and shorter reporting time. Amplification of the 18S rRNA subunit gene by PCR from the DNA extracted from patient's blood specifically identifies the causative organism at least at genus level. Here, we evaluate the diagnostic utility of 18S rRNA PCR in neonatal fungal sepsis as part of a prospective cohort study in a tertiary health care setting.

Keywords

preterm - fungal sepsis - 18S rRNA - PCR

• References

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