Diagnosis of dermatophytoses using vinyl adhesive tape

Potassium hydroxide mount with cellophane adhesive tape: a method for direct diagnosis of dermatophyte skin infections

“…In 1974, Milne et al . reported the superiority of cellophane method for demonstration of dermatophytes (Table ), but positivity was noted in only 48.5% of samples, possibly due to the inclusion of samples from the moist interdigital areas. Similarly, in 2002 Thirumurthy et al .…”

“…Avoidance of sharp instruments also reduces the risk of inadvertent trauma and of spread of infection to the surrounding uninvolved skin. The cellophane‐taped slides enable easy transportation, and provide a larger area for examination . In comparison with the conventional method, fungal clumping was negligible and overlaying of fungi with confounding epidermal cell margins was rare.…”

“…Besides being an easier technique, the cellophane tape method permits storage of slides for a longer period and allays the need for complex storage conditions . However the limitation of this technique is that it is unsuitable for sample collection in very moist areas and is also unsuitable for onychomycoses . It allows detection only from the small taped area, and there is a possibility of the cellophane tape turning opaque.…”

New Uses of Vinyl Tape for Reliable Collection and Diagnosis of Common Superficial Mycoses

“…Scales collection by VAT—followed by direct clearing through the use of either KOH or KOH/DMSO—also proved useful in cases of TV 5,6 . The use of such a procedure has been extended to dermatophyte infections, which requires replacing the scales‐containing VAT with a conventional cover glass soon after contact with the KOH/DMSO solution has been made 7 . Since these authors were able to achieve positive results in only 53.3% of cases, they concluded that the conventional method was still more advantageous, as compared to their newly proposed VAT‐based technique.…”

“…Addition of potassium hydroxide (KOH) or dyes, such as Albert's solution, to specimens stripped from lesions in order to enhance both detection level and imaging quality of Malassezia furfur has also been reported 2–6 . Moreover, no reliable results have been presented thus far concerning a VAT‐based procedure for superficial mycoses, other than T V, especially for dermatophyte and yeast infections 1,5,7 …”