ABSTRACT
Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of serum galactomannan (GM) in the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods We enrolled 60 COPD patients in the study, including 19 IPA and 41 non-IPA cases.We examined serum GM of the patients by ELISA, evaluate the value of serum GM test for the diagnosis of IPA in patients with COPD, and compared the GM values before and after treatment.Results With 0.5 as the positive cutoff value, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of serum GM were 57.9%, 95.3%, 84.6%, and 83.0%, respectively, with a high specificity and a low sensitivity.The 7 IPA cases showed a significantly decreased GM value after treatment as compared with the baseline (0.30±0.21 vs 1.48±1.37, P=0.004).Conclusion The serum GM test has a limited value in the diagnosis of IPA in patients with COPD, but dynamic monitoring of the changes of the serum GM value may help evaluate the patient's condition.