Open AccessVISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS;
Author(s) -
Muhammad Usman,
Fayyaz Hussain,
MK Baig
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the professional medical journal/the professional medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2071-7733
pISSN - 1024-8919
DOI - 10.29309/tpmj/2013.20.06.1828
Subject(s) - visceral leishmaniasis , medicine , leishmaniasis , polymerase chain reaction , leishmania , bone marrow , pathology , immunology , pcr test , parasite hosting , biology , gene , biochemistry , world wide web , computer science
Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasite of genus Leishmania which is transmitted through bites ofinfected sand flies. It has been reported that Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is more sensitive and specific test for the diagnosis ofvisceral leishmaniasis than bone marrow examination. This recent study is a renewed effort to validate the role of PCR in the diagnosis ofvisceral leishmaniasis. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of PCR in the diagnosis ofth visceral leishmaniasis. Duration of study: 25 March 2009 to 24th March 2010. Setting: Armed forces institute of pathology, Rawalpindi.Study design: Cross sectional (Validation) study. Materials and Methods: A total number of 59 patients of visceral leishmanaisisdiagnosed on bone marrow examination with equal number of negative controls were studied. The subjects were tested for the presenceof visceral leishmaniasis by polymerase chain reaction. Results: All the 59 patients were also found to be positive for visceralleishmaniasis by PCR. None of the negative control was positive on PCR. Conclusions: The study validates that PCR is equally sensitiveand specific test to bone marrow examination in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.