ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Mycoses of deep tissues requir e prompt recognition and early institution of treatment. Sometimes, it is quite difficult to find fungal elements in tissue section with special stains and to culture on Sabouraud media. Previously it has been shown that Fungi-Fluor(R) solution (calcofluor white) bind t fungi present in frozen and paraffin tissue sections. Fungi present in such specimens stained with Fungi-Fluor(R) solution have a distinct green-blue fluorescence when examined by fluorescent microscopy. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic value of the Fungi-Fluor(R) solution for detecting fungal element in the tissue. METHODS: Fungi-Fluor(R) staining was done with a paraffin-embedded tissue section of several superficial and cutaneous deep mycoses. Then we viewed this through a fluorescent microscope with excitation of 250-400 nm and compared these staining results to PAS staining. RESULTS: The results of this study are summarized as follows : 1. In the several superficial mycoses such as tinea corporis & tinea capitis, Fungi-Fluor(R) staining method revealed more fungal elements with high sensitivity compared to PAS stain. 2. In the several cutaneous deep mycoses such as sporotrichosis, Fungi-Fluor(R) staining method revealed more fungal elements than PAS stain, and revealed some fungal elements which were not detected by PAS stain. CONCLUSION: The Fungi-fluor staining solution is a rapid, inexpensive, highly sensitive method to detect fungal element in the tissue.