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Paper II — 2021 February (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme) — Q4

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Paper II
2021 February (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme) · 40 marks · 120 min

Question

Germ tube test

Q42 marksShort Notes

Answer

The germ tube test is a rapid, simple presumptive identification test for Candida albicans (and C. dubliniensis).

Principle: when yeast cells of C. albicans are suspended in serum and incubated at 37°C for 2–3 hours, they produce a characteristic germ tube — a thin filamentous outgrowth lacking a constriction at its point of origin (distinguishing it from a true pseudohypha, which shows a constriction).

Interpretation: presence of germ tubes = positive, presumptively identifying C. albicans/C. dubliniensis; absence = negative, suggesting a non-albicans Candida species requiring further testing.

Clinical significance: rapid, low-cost, widely used first-line presumptive test, guiding empirical antifungal therapy while definitive identification/susceptibility testing is pending.

  1. 1General Mycology

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