Nested polymerase chain reaction in cerebrospinal fluid for diagnosing spinal cord schistosomiasis: A promising method

作者：Bruscky Igor Silvestre; de Melo Fabio Lopes; de Medeiros Zulma Maria; Albuquerque Flavia Falcao; Wanderley Leandro Batista; da Cunha Correia Carolina^*

来源：Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 2016, 366: 87-90.

DOI：10.1016/j.jns.2016.04.049

• Schistosomiasis
• Schistosomiasis mansoni
• Neuroschistosomiasis
• Polymerase chain reaction
• Myelitis

Introduction: Spinal cord schistosomiasis is a neglected, disabling neurological disease commonly identified in patients from northeast Brazil. The methods currently available for its diagnosis need improvement. PCR in feces and urine is a sensitive diagnostic tool for diagnosis of schistosomiasis, but its value in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is still unknown.
Objective: The objective of this study was to detect Schistosoma mansoni DNA in CSF from patients with spinal cord schistosomiasis, using the nested PCR (NPCR) assay.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out from March 2013 to January 2014 at the Aggeu Magalhaes Research Center/FIOCRUZ (Pernambuco state, Brazil). NPCR was used to detect Schistosoma mansoni DNA in CSF samples from 20 patients with spinal cord schistosomiasis and 30 controls.
Results: NPCR was positive in 16 patients with spinal cord schistosomiasis and none from the control group (sensitivity 80%; specificity 100%, positive predictive value 100%; negative predictive value 88.2%).
Conclusion: The NPCR technique is highly sensitive and specific for diagnosis of spinal cord schistosomiasis and can be an important diagnostic tool, particularly in cases with negative CSF serology.

• 出版日期2016-7-15