TY - JOUR KW - Dermatomycoses KW - Humans KW - Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous KW - Leprosy, lepromatous KW - Lyme Disease KW - Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous KW - polymerase chain reaction KW - Skin Diseases, Infectious KW - Syphilis, Cutaneous KW - Tuberculosis, Cutaneous KW - Virus Diseases AU - Swick BL AB -

Conventional methods, including microscopy, culture, and serologic studies, are a mainstay in the diagnosis of cutaneous infection. However, owing to limitations associated with these techniques, such as low sensitivity for standard microscopy and in the case of culture delay in diagnosis, polymerase chain-reaction based molecular techniques have taken on an expanding role in the diagnosis of infectious processes in dermatopathology. In particular, these assays are a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis, atypical mycobacterial infection, leprosy, Lyme disease, syphilis, rickettsioses, leishmaniasis, and some fungal and viral infections. Already in the case of tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infection, standardized polymerase chain-reaction assays are commonly used for diagnostic purposes. With time, additional molecular-based techniques will decrease in cost and gain increased standardization, thus delivering rapid diagnostic confirmation for many difficult-to-diagnose cutaneous infections from standard formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens.

BT - Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23174494?dopt=Abstract DA - 2012 Dec DO - 10.1016/j.sder.2012.06.009 IS - 4 J2 - Semin Cutan Med Surg LA - eng N2 -

Conventional methods, including microscopy, culture, and serologic studies, are a mainstay in the diagnosis of cutaneous infection. However, owing to limitations associated with these techniques, such as low sensitivity for standard microscopy and in the case of culture delay in diagnosis, polymerase chain-reaction based molecular techniques have taken on an expanding role in the diagnosis of infectious processes in dermatopathology. In particular, these assays are a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis, atypical mycobacterial infection, leprosy, Lyme disease, syphilis, rickettsioses, leishmaniasis, and some fungal and viral infections. Already in the case of tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infection, standardized polymerase chain-reaction assays are commonly used for diagnostic purposes. With time, additional molecular-based techniques will decrease in cost and gain increased standardization, thus delivering rapid diagnostic confirmation for many difficult-to-diagnose cutaneous infections from standard formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens.

PY - 2012 SP - 241 EP - 6 T2 - Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery TI - Polymerase chain reaction-based molecular diagnosis of cutaneous infections in dermatopathology. VL - 31 SN - 1558-0768 ER -