Accuracy of Buffy Coat in the Diagnosis of Disseminated Histoplasmosis in AIDS-Patients in an Endemic Area of Brazil

The buffy coat is obtained routinely for disseminated histoplamosis (DH) diagnosis in Ceará, Brazil. The aim of this study is to describe the accuracy of staining smears for Histoplasma in the buffy coat of AIDS-patients with DH. From 2012–2013, all results of stained buffy coat smears and culture for fungi performed at São José Hospital were recorded. In total, 489 buffy coats of 361 patients were studied; 19/361 (5.3%; 95%CI = 2.9–7.6%) had positive direct examination stained smears for Histoplasma and 61/361 (16.9%; 95%CI = 13.0–20.8%) had growth in culture. For those with positive Histoplasma cultures, the CD4 count was significantly lower (139.3 vs. 191.7cells/µL; p = 0.014) than others, and death was 18%. The sensitivity and specificity of stained smears was 25.9% and 100%, respectively. A second test, performed up to 36 days from the first one, increased the sensitivity of stained smears to 32.2%. Stained smears of buffy coat have low accuracy; nonetheless, they are easy to perform and can give a quick diagnosis in low-resource endemic areas. Despite the decrease in mortality, it is not yet to the low levels observed in areas that have better and more efficient methods.