Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay on Bronchoalveolar Lavage: An Alternative Method for Diagnosing Chronic Pulmonary Schistosomiasis?

Federico Gobbi Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy;

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Fabio Formenti Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy;

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Francesca Perandin Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy;

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Dora Buonfrate Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy;

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Andrea Angheben Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy;

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Simona Paiano Pneumology Unit, Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy

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Zeno Bisoffi Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Negrar, Verona, Italy;

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.17-0499
Volume/Issue:
Volume 97: Issue 6
Page(s):
1808–1809
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Schistosomiasis causes mainly hepatic and genitourinary damage. Although lung nodules have been commonly described in acute phase, they are presumably underdiagnosed in chronic schistosomiasis. We previously reported a series of patients with chronic pulmonary schistosomiasis confirmed by the histological examination of the lung biopsies. In the present work, we retrospectively tested an in-house real-time polymerase chain reaction for Schistosoma (currently validated for diagnosis on stool and on urine) in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of a couple of those patients, and both resulted positive. The possibility of testing BAL with molecular methods targeting a wide spectrum of pathogens, including parasites, is appealing. Further studies are needed to validate this technique that might reduce unnecessary biopsies.

Author Notes

Address correspondence to Federico Gobbi, Center for Tropical Diseases (CTD), Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Via Sempreboni 5, 37024 Negrar, Verona, Italy. E-mail: federico.gobbi@sacrocuore.it

Authors’ addresses: Federico Gobbi, Fabio Formenti, Francesca Perandin, Dora Buonfrate, Andrea Angheben, and Zeno Bisoffi, Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Centre for Tropical Diseases, Negrar, Verona, Italy, E-mails: federico.gobbi@sacrocuore.it, fabio.formenti@sacrocuore.it, francesca.perandin@sacrocuore.it, dora.buonfrate@sacrocuore.it, andrea.angheben@sacrocuore.it, and zeno.bisoffi@sacrocuore.it. Simona Paiano, Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital, Pneumology Unit, Negrar, Verona, Italy, E-mail: simona.paiano@sacrocuore.it.

Copyright:
© The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2017
Received:
23 Jun 2017
|
Accepted:
22 Aug 2017
|
Published Online:
09 Oct 2017
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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