Molecular diagnosis of cerebral aspergillosis by sequence analysis with panfungal polymerase chain reaction

The authors describe a patient with osteosarcoma in whom a brain abscess developed after autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation. Serologic markers of fungal infection were negative, but fungal DNA was detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by panfungal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using primers derived from fungal 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. The sequence of PCR products on the panfungal assay was identical to the 18S rRNA genes of Aspergillus species. The combination of sequence analysis and panfungal PCR assay could be useful in the diagnosis of cerebral aspergillosis.