Review of Clinical and Laboratory Diagnostics for Coccidioidomycosis.

Ian H McHardy, Bridget Barker, George R Thompson

Journal of clinical microbiology 2023 May 23

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Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease associated with soil exposure that frequently goes undiagnosed due at least in part to its nonspecific presentation and the lack of clinical suspicion by health care providers. Currently available diagnostics for coccidioidomycosis offer qualitative results that can suffer from low specificity, while semiquantitative assays are labor-intensive and complex and can require multiple days to complete. Furthermore, significant confusion exists regarding the optimal diagnostic algorithms and appropriate usage of available diagnostic tests. This review aims to inform clinical laboratorians and treating clinicians about the current diagnostic landscape, appropriate diagnostic strategies, and future diagnostic directions for coccidioidomycosis, which is expected to become more prevalent due to increased migration into areas of endemicity and climate changes.

Citation

Ian H McHardy, Bridget Barker, George R Thompson. Review of Clinical and Laboratory Diagnostics for Coccidioidomycosis. Journal of clinical microbiology. 2023 May 23;61(5):e0158122