Rapid Classification of Serum from Patients with Paracoccidioidomycosis Using Infrared Spectroscopy, Univariate...

Area of Science:

• Medical Mycology
• Spectroscopy
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic fungal infection with diagnostic limitations.
• Current diagnostic methods for PCM include fungal visualization and serological techniques, each with inherent drawbacks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel diagnostic tool for PCM using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
• To assess the accuracy and potential of FTIR spectroscopy as a rapid and reliable diagnostic method for PCM.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 224 serum samples (132 PCM patients, 92 controls) using attenuated total reflection (ATR) FTIR spectroscopy.
• Statistical analysis including t-tests, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, principal component analysis (PCA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA).

Main Results:

• FTIR spectroscopy identified spectral differences between PCM patients and controls.
• ROC curve analysis in the 1551-1095 cm⁻¹ region yielded high diagnostic potential, with a specific wavenumber (1264 cm⁻¹) achieving 97.73% sensitivity and 94.22% accuracy.
• PCA and LDA demonstrated complete group separation and 100% accuracy in diagnosis using selected spectral variables.

Conclusions:

• FTIR spectroscopy presents a simple, rapid, and highly accurate method for PCM diagnosis.
• The proposed FTIR-based methodology shows superior accuracy compared to existing diagnostic methods for PCM.
• This technique holds significant promise for improving the diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis, a neglected tropical mycosis.