[Practical knowledge in fungal diagnosis in some biological materials]

The article deals with certain problematic issues associated with routine laboratory diagnosis of mycoses from secretions and samples taken from the respiratory tract and maxillary sinuses as well as samples of skin and skin appendages. The text is based on both the author's own long-term experience and experience gained from cooperation with other laboratories. To improve the detection of filamentous fungi in lower respiratory tract secretions, it is recommended to use 0.5 mL of the material for individual culture media. In both secretions and other biological material, the role of microscopic examination is stressed. In many cases, this may also be the only reliable laboratory procedure. Detection of filamentous fungi should be interpreted in close cooperation with clinicians, especially in order to obtain history data. These are particularly important in the diagnosis of endemic mycoses. Equivocal or unusual findings should be verified by repeated laboratory tests.