Grocott Methenamine Silver (GMS) stain test

Your healthcare practitioner may order this test if you show symptoms of a fungal infection. This test helps to check for the presence of fungi in the body and to identify the causative organism. Every fungal infection has its own set of symptoms. The following are some of the symptoms of some of the most common fungal infections:

 Aspergillus infection: 

• Fever
• Worsened asthma
• Cough with mucus or blood
• Fatigue
• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath
• Weight loss

An invasive Aspergillus infection may show different symptoms depending on the organ that is affected. Following are some of the common symptoms:

• Skin lesion
• Headache
• Chest pain
• Joint pain
• Shortness of breath
• Fever
• Chills
• Cough with blood

In pneumocystis pneumonia, a person may experience shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing at the beginning of the disease. One may experience dry cough because of thick spit (sputum). Some other symptoms of pneumocystis pneumonia are as follows:

• Fever
• Night sweat
• Weight loss
• Chest pain while breathing
• Fatigue 

In candidiasis, the symptoms may differ based on the affected body part. The following symptoms are observed in candidiasis infection of mouth, throat or food pipe:

• Redness or soreness
• Pain while eating or swallowing
• Cotton-like feeling in the mouth 
• White patches on the tongue, inner cheeks, throat or roof of the mouth
• Loss of taste sensation
• Cracked skin or redness at the corner of the mouth

Symptoms related to vaginal infection caused by Candida species are as follows:

• Abnormal vaginal discharge
• Itching
• Soreness
• Pain or discomfort while urinating (Read more: Painful urination causes)
• Pain during sexual intercourse

Inform your doctor if you are taking any prescribed or non-prescribed vitamins, supplements and herbal medicines.

Your healthcare practitioner may order a bronchoalveolar lavage, sputum or an open lung biopsy sample for the GMS stain test. A bronchoscopy is needed for the above sample. 

Bronchoalveolar lavage is a procedure to collect cells and other components of different parts of lungs. It is performed along with bronchoscopy in the following manner:

• You may be asked to sit on the examination table, and the doctor will give you some liquid to numb your nose and throat before the procedure. 
• A numbing spray is also used to numb the back of your throat.
• The doctor will then move the bronchoscope into your throat and airway. 
• A 50 mL aliquot of saline solution will be instilled into your throat and airway and collected after applying suction for a few seconds.
• This procedure is repeated three times.
• The sample is labelled and sent to the laboratory for testing.

A sputum sample or a biopsy specimen may also be taken with the bronchoscopy.

For an open lung biopsy, the procedure is as follows:

• The doctor will give you a general anaesthesia before conducting the procedure.
• He will clean the skin of your chest area and make a small cut on either side of your chest.
• A viewing scope will then be inserted in between your ribs after gently separating them. This will help your doctor to view the affected area and collect the sample.
• After collecting the sample, he/she will close the area with stitches.
• The sample will be immediately sent to the laboratory for testing.

Normal results:

A normal result is reported as negative. It means no fungi were detected in the given sample. 

Abnormal results:

An abnormal result is reported as positive for the presence of fungi. The test also helps identify the causative agent. 

Disclaimer: All results must be clinically correlated with the patient’s complaints to make a complete and accurate diagnosis. The above information is provided from a purely educational point of view and is in no way a substitute for medical advice by a qualified doctor.