SENSITIVITY OF CALCOFLUOR WHITE STAIN IN COMPARISON WITH CONVENTIONAL MICROSCOPY AND CULTURE FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF DERMATOPHYTOSIS IN CLINICALLY SUSPECTED CASES

G. PRABHA DEVI; A. DURGA RANI; MURTHY D. S.; P. V. PRASANNA KUMAR

doi:10.22159/ijcpr.2024v16i5.5058

Authors

G. PRABHA DEVI Department of Microbiology, Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India
A. DURGA RANI Department of Microbiology, Govt. Medical College, Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
MURTHY D. S. Department of Microbiology, S V Medical College, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India
P. V. PRASANNA KUMAR Department of Microbiology, Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijcpr.2024v16i5.5058

Keywords:

Dermatophytes, KOH mount, Calcoflour white stain, Trichophyton mentagrophyte, Sabouraud’s dextrose agar medium with actidione and Dermatophyte test medium

Abstract

Objective: The dermatophytes are a distinct group of fungi which are keratinophilic and capable of invading keratinized tissues of skin and its appendages like hair and nail, producing a variety of cutaneous infections. The genera Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton are the principle etiologic agents. The frequency of recovery of these species differs by geographic location. This study was conducted to know the causative fungal species of dermatophytosis in clinically suspected cases and to compare the efficacy of calcofluor white stain in comparison with conventional microscopy and culture in isolating and identifying dermatophytes.

Methods: This prospective study was conducted among 100 clinically suspected cases of dermatophytosis attending tertiary care hospital from January 2022-December 2022. All the samples were screened by direct microscopic examination using 10% KOH mount, those negative for KOH mount were further screened by calcofluor white stain. Simultaneously all the samples were inoculated onto sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) with actidione and Dermatophyte test medium. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethical Committee prior to the start of the study.

Results: Out of 100 samples collected 66 samples (66%) were positive by KOH mount and additionally, 18 samples (18%) were positive by Calcofluor white stain for fungal elements, contributing to total 84 samples (84%) positive by microscopy. Out of 100 samples inoculated 74 samples (74%) were culture positive for dermatophytes.

Conclusion: Calcofluor white stain is found to be more sensitive in detection of Dermatophytes in comparison with KOH mount and culture.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Upadhyay V, Kumar A, Singh AK, Pandey J. Epidemiological characterization of dermatophytes at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Eastern Uttar Pradesh India. Curr Med Mycol. 2019 Mar 12;5(1):1-6. doi: 10.18502/cmm.5.1.530, PMID 31049451.

Gorbach SL, Bartlett JL, Blacklow NR. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Infectious disease; 2004. p. 1162-80.

Surendran K, Bhat RM, Boloor R, Nandakishore B, Sukumar D. A clinical and mycological study of dermatophytic infections. Indian J Dermatol. 2014 Jan 1;59(3):262-7. doi: 10.4103/0019-5154.131391, PMID 24891657.

Sudha M, Ramani CP, Anandan H. Prevalence of dermatophytosis in patients in a tertiary care centre. Int J Contemp Med Res. 2016;3(8):2399-401.

Afshar P, Larijani LV, Rouhanizadeh H. A comparison of conventional rapid methods in diagnosis of superficial and cutaneous mycoses based on KOH Chicago sky blue 6B and calcofluor white stains. Iran J Microbiol. 2018 Dec;10(6):433-40. PMID 30873272, PMCID PMC6414738.

Chaudhary JK, kumar A. A clinico mycological profile of dermatophytosis at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bihar. Int J Curr Microbiol App Sci. 2016;5(2):181-9. doi: 10.20546/ijcmas.2016.502.021.

Vara A, Khan RA, Narayan LS. Prevalence of dermatophytes in patients attending a Teaching Hospital in Hyderabad South India. Indian J Microbiol Res. 2021;8(2):132-4. doi: 10.18231/j.ijmr.2021.026.

Mundhe SS, Chaudahri KN. Prevalence of dermatophytes and other fungal agents from clinical specimens at a Tertiary Care Hospital. Medpulse International Journal of Microbiology. 2017;2(1):5-9.

Singh S, Beena PM. Comparative study of different microscopic techniques and culture media for the isolation of dermatophytes. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2003;21(1):21-4. PMID 17642969.

Sumana V, Singaracharya MA. Dermatophytosis in Khammam (Khammam District Andhra Pradesh India). Indian J Pathol Microbiol. 2004 Apr;47(2):287-9. PMID 16295504.

Attal RO, Chaudhary RA, Deotale VS, Jain SP. A clinicomycological study of onychomycosis in a Rural Hospital in Central India. J Res Med Sci. 2015;3(5):1131-7. doi: 10.5455/2320-6012.

Dass SM, Vinayaraj EV, Pavavni K, Pallam A, Rao MS. Comparison of KOH calcofluor white and fungal culture for diagnosing fungal onychomycosis in an Urban Teaching Hospital Hyderabad. Indian J Microbiol Res. 2015;2(3):148-53. doi: 10.5958/2394-5478.2015.00004.7.

Mourad B, Ismail M, Hawwam S, Msseha M, Hassan R. Evaluation of the efficacy of fluorescent staining and Chicago sky blue staining as methods for diagnosis of dermatophytosis in hair and nails. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2019 Oct 9;12:751-8. doi: 10.2147/CCID.S215661, PMID 31632123, PMCID PMC6790344.

Noronha TM, Tophakhane RS, Nadiger S. Clinico microbiological study of dermatophytosis in a Tertiary Care Hospital in North Karnataka. Indian Dermatol Online J. 2016 Jul-Aug;7(4):264-71. doi: 10.4103/2229-5178.185488, PMID 27559499, PMCID PMC4976403.