[The polymerase chain reaction used in microbiologic diagnosis]

Among the new DNA technological methods for microbiological diagnosis, the most promising seems to be the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The sensitivity of the method is approximately 100% and the specificity is between 90% and 100%, depending on the availability of an already existing test sufficient for comparison. The PCR is able to detect only one microorganism in clinical samples. Because of this high sensitivity, contamination of samples is one of the major problems. After certain preparation procedures, the method can be used on different kinds of human sample material. The PCR could be used for detection of a microorganism, for detection of a single gene (toxin gene) or for typing of microorganisms. It is expected that, in the immediate future PCR will be a prominent part of the methods used in microbiological diagnosis.