Research of efficiency of microsporia diagnostics methods

Objective — to investigate the effectiveness of different methods of microsporia diagnostics in children. Materials and methods. 50 children aged 2 to 16 (24 boys and 26 girls) were under survey. Depending on the clinical course, diagnosis and research results, all patients were divided into two groups: the 1st group included 40 children with microsporia (19 — with smooth skin microsporia, 13 — with scalp microsporia, 8 — with scalp and smooth skin microsporia); and the 2nd group consisted of 10 children in whom microsporia was not detected. The clinical diagnosis of all patients of the 1st group was confirmed by the results of PCR, microscopic, cultural and luminescent studies. The material for the study was scales from the smooth skin and scalp, as well as hair from the scalp of patients. 10 patients of the 2nd group did not have any clinical manifestations of microsporia and the results of the studies were negative. Results and discussion. The study with PCR in children with microsporia had 100 % positive result. Microsporum canis DNA was detected in all 40 patients. The microscopic method of the study was positive in 95 %. Bacteriological research revealed Microsporum canis in 85 %, while in 15 % the result was negative. Luminescent glow of hair in the rays of the Wood lamp in our study was observed in 87.5 % patients, while in 12.5 % it was absent. Conclusions. The study found that the most effective and accurate method is PCR. This is a method of modern accurate specific diagnostics of microsporia which allows the identification of the pathogen of Micro­sporum canis at the DNA level. Microscopic, cultural and luminescent research methods can also be used to diagnose this disease.