Efficacy of Fungiflora Y Staining in the Diagnosis of Oral Candidiasis

For the detection of oral Candida, smear specimens obtained from oral mucosa were stained with Fungiflora Y, and then the stained specimens were observed using a portable CyScope® fluorescence microscope. To evaluate the utility of the microscopy method, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated using the results of fungal culture as a gold standard. The sensitivity of the Fungiflora Y microscopy method was 0.71, the specificity was 1.0; the positive predictive value was 1.0, and the negative predictive value was 0.25. It is necessary to confirm culture results when Fungiflora Y staining is negative, because the negative predictive value is low. However, if the Fungiflora Y staining is positive, the clinician can start treatment immediately because the specificity and positive predictive value are high. These results suggest that the Fungiflora Y staining method is suitable for the screening of candidiasis.