Use of touch preparation for rapid diagnosis of disseminated candidiasis

Disseminated candidiasis is the most common fungal infection occurring in patients with hematologic malignancies. Unless rapidly diagnosed and treated, it is usually fatal. The signs and symptoms of disseminated candidiasis are nonspecific but sometimes include a skin eruption of papulonodules with pale centers. Biopsy or culture of skin lesions does not usually allow prompt diagnosis. We describe two patients with leukemia with disseminated candidiasis in whom the diagnosis was rapidly made by a potassium hydroxide preparation and a Gram's stain of a touch preparation of the punch biopsy specimen.