A strip test for detecting Candida in the oral cavity.

One-hundred and twenty persons were screened for the presence of Candida in the mouth. Salivary samples were cultured on Sabouraud's agar, on yeast extract, and on Microstix. Microstix is a new and simple method testing for Candida. The reliability of the strip for detecting clinically identified candidiasis in severely ill patients was 100 per cent. Of ninety-three clinically healthy controls, forty-five were found to be Candida carriers according to the two conventional methods (Sabouraud's agar and yeast extract), but only forty-one of them by the strip. The discrepancy might be explained by the limit of the sensitivity of the strip (5.10(2) yeast per milliliter). The strip is recommended for testing clinically suspected candidiasis and is very useful for screening.