ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to compare the sensitivities of serum galactomannan and bronchoalveolar lavage galactomannan in diagnosing invasive aspergillosis in solid-organ transplant recipients (lung and heart). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study took place in the lung transplant center of the National Research Institute for Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. All patients with clinical and radiologic manifestations suggestive of pulmonary infection were included. Serum and bronchoalveolar lavage galactomannan were measured. RESULTS: Seventeen patients were included (lung, 15; heart, 1; heart-lung, 1). Probable or definite invasive aspergillosis was diagnosed in 9 patients. With a cutoff ≥ 0.5, serum galactomannan sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing invasive aspergillosis were 77.18% and 100%. Negative predictive value and positive predictive value were 80% and 100%. The sensitivity and specificity of bronchoalveolar lavage galactomannan for diagnosing invasive aspergillosis with cutoff of ≥ 0.5 was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: Regarding the high levels of mortality and problems in diagnosing this disease, using bronchoalveolar lavage galactomannan could be a suitable option.
Subject(s)
Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid/chemistry , Heart Transplantation , Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/diagnosis , Lung Transplantation , Mannans/analysis , Mannans/blood , Transplantation , Adult , Antifungal Agents/therapeutic use , Biomarkers/metabolism , Caspofungin , Drug Therapy, Combination , Echinocandins/therapeutic use , Galactose/analogs & derivatives , Humans , Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/drug therapy , Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/metabolism , Lipopeptides , Male , Middle Aged , Predictive Value of Tests , Prospective Studies , Pyrimidines/therapeutic use , Retrospective Studies , Sensitivity and Specificity , Triazoles/therapeutic use , VoriconazoleABSTRACT
Galactomannan (GM) antigen is an aspergillus specific antigen that is released during the growth phase of invasive aspergillosis. We aimed to find the optimum cutoff and accuracy of serum Galactomannan assay in immunocompromised patients. Immunocompromised patients diagnosed with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) based on the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Invasive Mycosis Study Group (EORTC/MSG) with three levels of certainty proven, probable and possible, referred for GM antigen measurement at Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute (IAARI) from 2006 to 2009 and if they met the criteria were enrolled in this study. Totally 49 patients with IPA were enrolled in our study. According to EORTC/MSG, patients categorized into three levels of certainty: They were diagnosed as 'proven' invasive pulmonary aspergillosis 16(32.7%), 'probable' 18(36.7%) and 'possible' 15(30.6%). The most common host risk factor was solid tumors 17(34.7%). The accuracy of Galactomannan assay increased from 0.5 to 2 cutoffs. The optimum sensitivity and specificity obtained at the index cutoff of ≥1.5 for diagnosis of "proven" IPA; which were respectively, 69.2% and 72.2%. Other cutoffs had high variance between sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of IPA. The calculated cutoff gained by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for detecting proven IPA was 1.5. Intermediate accuracy of serum GM test in conjunct with clinical findings would help early IPA detection among immunocompromised patients.
