1993 Volume 32 Issue 5 Pages 370-373
This study investigated the efficacy of applying the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique to the monitoring of therapy to P. carinii pneumonia (PCP). The PCR method was sensitive enough to determine P. carinii shedding in sputum samples which was not detectable by Diff-Quik (International Reagent Corp., Kobe, Japan) stain. By PCR, P. carinii disappeared in sputa on days 8 to 15 after treatment. Clinical improvements correlated with the loss of detectable P. carinii. This study represents a potential usefulness of PCR to monitor P. carinii shedding in sputum during treatment.
(Internal Medicine 32: 370-373, 1993)