Real-time polymerase chain reaction assay on bronchoalveolar lavage: An alternative method for diagnosing chronic pulmonary schistosomiasis?

Abstract

Schistosomiasis causes mainly hepatic and genitourinary damage. Although lung nodules have been commonly described in acute phase, they are presumably underdiagnosed in chronic schistosomiasis. We previously reported a series of patients with chronic pulmonary schistosomiasis confirmed by the histological examination of the lung biopsies. In the present work, we retrospectively tested an in-house real-time polymerase chain reaction for Schistosoma (currently validated for diagnosis on stool and on urine) in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of a couple of those patients, and both resulted positive. The possibility of testing BAL with molecular methods targeting a wide spectrum of pathogens, including parasites, is appealing. Further studies are needed to validate this technique that might reduce unnecessary biopsies.