Clinical Usefulness of Serum (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan Measurement in the Diagnosis of Fungemia

Choi, Suk Hoon; Han, Sang Hoon; Chin, Bum Sik; Park, Yoon Seon; Cho, Byoung Chul; Kim, Hee Man; Kim, Yoon Jae; Lee, Kkot Sil; Chang, Kyung Hee; Song, Young Goo; Kim, June Myung

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Early recognition of fungemia is essential for successful treatment. However, methods to culture fungus specimen taken from fungemia patients are difficult and time consuming. To assess the clincal usefulness of beta-D-glucan in the detection of fungemia, we compared serum (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan concentrations in fungemia, bacteremia, and healthy persons.
METHODS
From August 2001 to October 2002, serum (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan concentrations were measured by turbidometric assay in 16 fungemia patients, 13 bacteremia patients and 18 healthy persons. Differences in (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan concentrations between fungemia patients and other groups were compared by t-test.
RESULTS
Fungemia patients were composed of 10 male and 6 female patients, and mean age was 52.9+/-16.2 years. The cut-off value for a positive result was 11 pg/mL. thirteen out of 16 fungemia patients had concentrations above the cul-off value (range:11.5-863 pg/mL, sensitivity:81.3%, specificity:100%), and mean concentration in fungemia was 217.8+/-273.8 pg/mL. Mean concentration in bacteremia was 0.1+/-0.3 pg/mL, and all the patients with bacteremia had the concentrations below the cut-off value. Mean concentration in the healthy persons was 0 pg/mL and all healthy persons had concentration below the cut-off value. The concentration in fungemia was statistically significantly higher than those of the other two groups(p-value: respectively 0.006, 0.006)
CONCLUSION
We concluded that serum (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan is useful for the diagnosis of fungemia. Further study on the usefullness of serum (1->3)-beta-D-glucan for early detection of fungemia and therapeutic monitoring is warranted.