Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of Fluorescent Staining And Chicago Sky Blue Staining As Methods For Diagnosis Of Dermatophytosis In Hair And Nails

Chicago sky blue and Calcofluor white staining are excellent methods for diagnosis of fungal infections, including those that cannot be confirmed using conventional methods.

This study was conducted using samples from 50 patients with dermatophytosis of the hair or nail. Samples were subjected to all the following laboratory investigations: KOH wet mount, culture on Sabouraud's dextrose agar, Chicago sky blue staining, and Calcofluor white staining. The

Dermatophytes are fungi that cause infections affecting hair, nail, and skin; in nails they cause onychomycosis, while in hair they lead to tinea capitis. Detection of dermatophytes using traditional

Calcofluor white stain and Chicago sky blue stain for dermatophytosis of hair and nail are more specific and sensitive as compared to traditional diagnostic methods. KOH wet mount is simple, rapid, and inexpensive test but lacks color contrast and gave more false positive (artifacts) and false-negative results as compared to these new stain methods.