Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Microbiological Rapid On-Site Evaluation for Pulmonary Infectious Diseases
Published on: March 1, 2024
Detection of Pneumocystis jiroveci in respiratory specimens by four staining methods
G W Procop1, S Haddad, J Quinn
1Section of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Clinical Pathology, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. procopg@ccf.org
Abstract:
We examined four staining methods on replicate smears of 313 respiratory specimens submitted for Pneumocystis jiroveci examination. The sensitivity and specificity of Calcofluor white stain (CW) were 73.8 and 99.6%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of Grocott-Gomori methenamine silver stain (GMS) were 79.4 and 99.2%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of Diff-Quik stain were 49.2 and 99.6%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of Merifluor Pneumocystis stain were 90.8 and 81.9%, respectively. Only CW and GMS had positive and negative predictive values of >90%.
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