Mycoplasma pneumoniae, PCR

The availability of nucleic acid amplification techniques such as the PCR assay has made older methods of Mycoplasma pneumoniae identification such as tetrazolium reduction and haemadsorption with guinea pig erythrocytes less important than they were previously.

This test can be used to confirm the diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection especially in the presence of symptoms and absence of IgM antibodies, which can occur in cases of re-infection. In addition, M. pneumoniae can be detected by PCR more often from the airways of patients with chronic, stable asthma than from matched control patients.

Respiratory specimen or throat swab Room Temperature

Negative