What is a fungal smear test

With the improvement of our living standards, more and more people do not pay attention to their living habits and eating habits, which leads to the occurrence of diseases. There are many diseases that cannot be found by the naked eye. They can only be found by going to the hospital for detailed examination. Fungal smear examination_Fungal smear examination can understand the patient's condition in time, but many people do not know about this examination. So what is fungal smear examination?

First, what is a fungal smear test? It is used to check for fungal infection. Fungal smear tests are most helpful for superficial and cutaneous fungal infections. Identification of Candida, dermatophyte, and Malassezia species in hair, skin scrapings, or nail specimens provides a reliable diagnosis of the corresponding fungal disease. The diagnosis of deep fungal disease can often be established by finding fungal components in a fungal smear of sterile body fluids. However, it is generally meaningful only if a large number of fungal hyphae are found in the infected area. Direct microscopic examination can generally distinguish between infections caused by Candida, Mucor (zygomycetes), dark fungi, Cryptococcus and other fungi. Further identification of the fungal species requires culture identification.

Second, fungal infections can cause diseases, which are called fungal diseases. Depending on the parts of the human body invaded, fungal infections can be divided into superficial fungal infections, skin fungal infections, subcutaneous tissue fungal infections and systemic fungal infections. Among them, superficial fungal infections and skin fungal infections are collectively referred to as superficial fungal infections, and subcutaneous tissue fungal infections and systemic fungal infections are collectively referred to as invasive fungal infections. With the abuse of large doses of immunosuppressants, chemotherapy drugs and broad-spectrum antibiotics, the number of immunosuppressed patients has gradually increased, and the incidence and mortality of fungal infections have been on the rise worldwide. The commonly used diagnostic methods for fungal infections in clinical practice include direct smear method, fungal culture method, and pathological tissue examination. Fungal smear examination is the preferred procedure for fungal detection, and its advantages are simplicity and rapidity. A positive result in a sterile area directly confirms fungal infection.

A fungal smear is a specimen of fungi. Specimens for collecting superficial fungi include hair, dandruff, nail dandruff, scabs, etc. The specimens are often disinfected with 75% ethanol before separation. Specimens for deep fungi can be obtained from sputum, urine, feces, pus, oral or vaginal secretions, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, various puncture fluids and biopsy tissues depending on the situation. Attention should be paid to aseptic operation when collecting specimens. Direct smear: It is the simplest and most important diagnostic method. Place the scraped scales, nail scrapings, scabs or hair specimens on a glass slide, add a drop of 10% KOH solution, cover with a coverslip, slightly heat over the flame of an alcohol lamp, wait for the specimen to dissolve, gently press the coverslip to make the specimen transparent for microscopic examination. First check for the presence of hyphae or spores under a low-power microscope, and then confirm with a high-power microscope.