Bp. Marmion et al., EXPERIENCE WITH NEWER TECHNIQUES FOR THE LABORATORY DETECTION OF MYCOPLASMA-PNEUMONIAE INFECTION - ADELAIDE, 1978-1992, Clinical infectious diseases, 17, 1993, pp. 190000090-190000099
Efforts to improve laboratory diagnostic methods for infection due to
Mycoplasma pneumoniae have involved the use of a cell-sheet culture me
thod and a modified indirect hemagglutination method for IgM antibody,
while direct detection of mycoplasma has employed antigen capture-enz
yme immunoassay (Ag-EIA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifica
tion of sequences within the P1 and 16S ribosomal RNA genes and quanti
fication of the amplified DNA by dot blot hybridization (DBH). Cell-sh
eet culture was slightly more sensitive and more rapid than culture wi
th cell-free diphasic medium. Indirect hemagglutination detection of I
gM antibody to M. pneumoniae was more sensitive than CF and EIA for de
tection of IgM antibody to mycoplasma. Ag-EIA gave a rapid and reasona
bly sensitive indication of infection and correlated well with a serol
ogical response of patients indicating a current infection. PCR-DBH wa
s a highly sensitive substitute for culture of mycoplasma. Both Ag-EIA
and PCR-DBH require confirmation by assessment of serological respons
e to verify that the infection is current and that positive results of
PCR-DBH, in particular, are not the result of continuing carriage of
the organism from a previous infection, unrelated to the current episo
de under investigation.