Evaluation of Toxoplasma gondii Molecular Test Results in Patients Admitted to Ankara City Hospital: Three-Year Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

Aim: Toxoplasma gondii infects about 25-30% of the world population. Toxoplasmosis is generally asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals, but the infection can be life threatening in congenitally infected children and immunocompromised individuals. In this study, it is aimed to analyse the molecular test results of patients suspected with toxoplasmosis, retrospectively. Material and Method: A total of 647 clinical samples investigated for T. gondii DNA with real-time PCR during the three-year period between 2019 and 2022 were evaluated retrospectively. For the qualitative detection of T. gondii, DNA isolation and DNA amplification were performed using commercial DNA extraction kit (Qiagen, Germany) and real time PCR kit (Sacace Biotechnologies, Italy), respectively. The data on the demographic and clinical parameters of the patients were obtained from the laboratory information management system. Results: Out of 647 patients investigated for T. gondii DNA with real-time PCR, 51.8% were female and the mean age of the patients was 37.03 years. Among all patients, five were positive for T. gondii DNA with real-time PCR and the frequency of a positive PCR result was found 0.8% of all samples analysed. The most frequently positive clinical sample was blood (80%). Among five patients with T. gondii DNA positivity, one was diagnosed with congenital toxoplasmosis, four were HIV-infection. Conclusion: Fast and accurate diagnosis of toxoplasmosis especially in immunosuppressed patients is crucial for rapid and specific treatment. Further studies are needed to understand the importance of molecular tests, in addition to the serological tests, in the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis.

Keywords

• Toxoplasma gondii
• Toxoplasmosis
• PCR
• HIV

Ankara Şehir Hastanesi’ne Başvuran Hastalarda Toxoplasma gondii Moleküler Test Sonuçlarının Değerlendirilmesi: Üç Yıllık Retrospektif Analiz

Abstract

Amaç: Toxoplasma gondii dünya nüfusunun yaklaşık %25-30'unu enfekte eder. Toksoplazmoz bağışıklık sistemi sağlam bireylerde genellikle asemptomatiktir, ancak enfeksiyon konjenital enfeksiyonlu çocuklarda ve immunsupresif bireylerde hayatı tehdit edici olabilir. Bu çalışmada toksoplazmozdan şüphelenilen hastaların moleküler test sonuçlarının geriye dönük olarak incelenmesi amaçlandı. Gereç ve Yöntem: Hastanemizde 2019-2022 yılları arasındaki üç yıllık dönemde gerçek zamanlı PCR ile T. gondii DNA araştırılan toplam 647 klinik örnek geriye dönük olarak değerlendirildi. T. gondii'nin kalitatif tespiti için ticari bir DNA ekstraksiyon kiti (Qiagen, Almanya) ve real time PCR kiti (Sacace Biotechnologies, İtalya) kullanılarak DNA izolasyonu ve DNA amplifikasyonu yapıldı. Hastaların demografik ve klinik parametreleri ile ilgili veriler laboratuvar bilgi yönetim sisteminden elde edildi. Bulgular: Real-time PCR ile T. gondii DNA'sı araştırılan 647 hastanın %51,8'i kadındı ve hastaların ortalama yaşı 37,03 idi. Hastalardan beşinde, real-time PCR ile T. gondii DNA pozitif tespit edildi ve PCR pozitifliği analiz edilen tüm örnekler içinde %0,8 bulundu. En fazla pozitiflik tespit edilen klinik örnek kandı (%80). T. gondii DNA pozitifliği saptanan beş hastadan birine konjenital toksoplazmoz, dördünde HIV enfeksiyonu vardı. Sonuç: Özellikle bağışıklık sistemi baskılanmış hastalarda toksoplazmozun hızlı ve doğru teşhisi, hızlı ve spesifik tedavi için çok önemlidir. Toksoplazmoz tanısında serolojik testlere ek olarak moleküler testlerin öneminin anlaşılabilmesi için ileri çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır.

Keywords

• Toxoplasma gondii
• Toksoplazmoz
• PZR
• HIV.

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