Evaluation of a new fluorescent reagent, fluorescent brightener 85, for the diagnosis of suspected onychomycosis compared with potassium hydroxide

Abstract

Background

Onychomycosis is a common fungal infection in dermatology clinics. The commonly used diagnostic method, potassium hydroxide (KOH) direct microscopy, does not have a high positive detection rate. Therefore, a new diagnostic method is needed to confirm onychomycosis.

Objectives

The objective of this research was to use fluorescent brightener 85 (FB 85), a new fluorescent reagent for fungi detection, and to evaluate this new method based on the diagnostic positive rate, accuracy and efficiency in suspected onychomycosis compared with the KOH method.

Methods

Subungual debris were collected from clinically suspected onychomycosis cases and divided into two parts. The parts were examined by FB 85 and 10% KOH solution, respectively.

Results

In total, 108 patients with suspected onychomycosis were recruited. The positive rates of FB 85 and KOH were 88.9% and 55.6%, respectively. The patients showed significant statistical differences (P<0.001).

Conclusions

Compared with the KOH method, the FB 85 fluorescent method was an accurate and efficient method with a higher positive rate. This method could increase the diagnostic accuracy and efficiency of onychomycosis detection.

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