Usefulness of the immunofuorescence test employing monoclonal antibodies for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia

: In spite of a considerable progress which was made in the laboratory diagnosis of pneumocytosis, a method delivering unequivocal diagnostic information is still missing. The purpose of the study was to compare diagnostic effectiveness of the fluorescent antibody method using monoclonal antibody in the examination of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid with routine serologic examination of immunocompromised patients affected by interstitial pneumonia. It was demonstrated that the method with monoclonal antibody was more useful for examining bronchoalveolar lavage samples confirming the suspicion of Pneumocystis pneumonia in 1 person among every 5 examines.