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J. Clin. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/JCM.00634-08
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Antibiotic Treatment on the Results of Nested Polymerase Chain Reactions for Scrub Typhus

Division of Infectious Diseases, Departments of Internal Medicine, Department of Radiology, Chosun University College of Medicine, Gwang-Ju, South Korea

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: jnbyun{at}chosun.ac.kr.

	Abstract

In order to determine the effects of antibiotic treatment on the results of nested polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) for scrub typhus, we investigated the frequency of positive outcomes at various times after antibiotic administration in patients with scrub typhus. The detection rate by nested PCR with blood buffy coat before antibiotic administration was 90.5%. However, this decreased to 60.5% within 3 days after antibiotic administration such as doxycycline, rifampin and to 10% by the 4th day following antibiotic administration. Since the sensitivity of nested PCR can be affected by antibiotic administration, clinicians should perform this PCR before antibiotic administration and at the latest within 3 days after antibiotic administration.