ABSTRACT
Many medical microbiology laboratories supporting the diagnosis of infectious diseases in humans culture fungi from clinical specimens. Within medical mycology, the availability of new diagnostic tools has had significant impact on the management of patients at risk for invasive fungal infection, as well as on the speed that results are available. The computed tomography scan has become an essential tool to detect pulmonary lesions in neutropenic patients, but the lesions are not specific for a certain fungus. With conventional diagnostic tools, patients that require antifungal therapy can be identified early, but culture remains essential to confirm the diagnosis or to obtain etiologic identification. Although cultures typically take one or several days to become positive, direct examination of appropriate clinical specimens may provide significant diagnostic information very rapidly. This opportunity should be used in patients at high risk of invasive fungal disease. Direct examination is a rapid and cost-effective means of diagnosing fungal infection.
