This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Talabani, H.
Right arrow Articles by Dupouy-Camet, J.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Talabani, H.
Right arrow Articles by Dupouy-Camet, J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2009, p. 2131-2135, Vol. 47, No. 7
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00128-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Contributions of Immunoblotting, Real-Time PCR, and the Goldmann-Witmer Coefficient to Diagnosis of Atypical Toxoplasmic Retinochoroiditis{triangledown}

H. Talabani,1* M. Asseraf,2 H. Yera,1 E. Delair,2 T. Ancelle,1 P. Thulliez,3 A. P. Brézin,2 and J. Dupouy-Camet1

Laboratory of Parasitology-Mycology,1 Department of Ophthalmology, Hôpital Cochin, AP-HP, Université Paris Descartes,2 Laboratory of Toxoplasmosis, Institut de Puériculture de Paris, Paris, France3

Received 22 January 2009/ Returned for modification 16 March 2009/ Accepted 2 May 2009

Ocular toxoplasmosis is a major cause of posterior uveitis worldwide. The diagnosis is based mainly on ophthalmological examination. Biological diagnosis is necessary in atypical cases, and this requires aqueous humor sampling by anterior chamber paracentesis. We evaluated real-time PCR targeting the Toxoplasma gondii 529-bp repeat element, the Goldmann-Witmer coefficient (GWC), and immunoblotting for the diagnosis of toxoplasmic retinochoroiditis in 54 patients with atypical uveitis. The results of these biological tests, applied to paired aqueous humor-serum samples, were compared to the clinical findings. Combining either PCR or the GWC with immunoblotting increased the sensitivity to 73% or 70%, respectively. Together, PCR and the GWC had 80% sensitivity. If feasible, sensitivity can be increased by combining the three methods (85% sensitivity). The interval between symptom onset and anterior chamber paracentesis strongly influenced the detection of specific intraocular antibody synthesis. The sensitivity of the GWC increased from 45% to 56% when sampling was performed 10 days after symptom onset, and that of immunoblotting increased from 53% to 72% when puncture was performed 30 days after symptom onset. PCR analysis of aqueous humor samples detected toxoplasmic DNA in 55% of patients. In contrast to the results of immunoblotting and the GWC, the results of PCR were not influenced by the interval between symptom onset and paracentesis. PCR was more informative than the GWC and immunoblotting for immunocompromised patients. Acute necrotizing retinal lesions were significantly larger in PCR-positive patients, with a mean of 3.5 optic disc diameters, than in PCR-negative patients, with a mean of 1.5 optic disc diameters.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Hôpital Cochin, 27 rue du faubourg St Jacques, 75679 Paris Cedex 14, France. Phone: 01 58 41 22 52. Fax: 01 58 41 22 45. E-mail: hana.talabani{at}cch.aphp.fr

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 13 May 2009.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2009, p. 2131-2135, Vol. 47, No. 7
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00128-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»