Comparison of serum PCR assay and histopathology for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis in immunocompromised patients with sinus involvement

Invasive fungal infections cause morbidity and mortality in patients with hematologic malignancies and immunosuppression. Although these infections are commonly caused by Candida and Aspergillus species, infections caused by Mucoralean fungi are also on a growing trend. The definitive diagnosis of mucormycosis includes visualization of non-septate hyphae on pathology or growth of Mucoralean fungi culture. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to diagnose mucormycosis from paraffin blocks; however, it yields discrepant results in diagnosis of mucormycosis from blood samples. In the current study, we sought to examine the efficiency of PCR test for the diagnosis of mucormycosis and aspergillosis .