Evaluation of Toxoplasma gondii Molecular Test Results in Patients Admitted to Ankara City Hospital: Three-Year Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

Aim: Toxoplasma gondii infects about 25-30% of the world population. Toxoplasmosis is generally asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals, but the infection can be life threatening in congenitally infected children and immunocompromised individuals. In this study, it is aimed to analyse the molecular test results of patients suspected with toxoplasmosis, retrospectively. Material and Method: A total of 647 clinical samples investigated for T. gondii DNA with real-time PCR during the three-year period between 2019 and 2022 were evaluated retrospectively. For the qualitative detection of T. gondii, DNA isolation and DNA amplification were performed using commercial DNA extraction kit (Qiagen, Germany) and real time PCR kit (Sacace Biotechnologies, Italy), respectively. The data on the demographic and clinical parameters of the patients were obtained from the laboratory information management system. Results: Out of 647 patients investigated for T. gondii DNA with real-time PCR, 51.8% were female and the mean age of the patients was 37.03 years. Among all patients, five were positive for T. gondii DNA with real-time PCR and the frequency of a positive PCR result was found 0.8% of all samples analysed. The most frequently positive clinical sample was blood (80%). Among five patients with T. gondii DNA positivity, one was diagnosed with congenital toxoplasmosis, four were HIV-infection. Conclusion: Fast and accurate diagnosis of toxoplasmosis especially in immunosuppressed patients is crucial for rapid and specific treatment. Further studies are needed to understand the importance of molecular tests, in addition to the serological tests, in the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis.