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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2000, p. 438-443, Vol. 38, No. 1
Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie
Médicale et Moléculaire, UPRES A, CNRS 5082, Hôpital Albert Michallon, 38043 Grenoble, France
Received 18 February 1999/Returned for modification 16 August
1999/Accepted 15 September 1999
We have developed an inhibition enzyme immunoassay (inhibition-EIA)
to monitor for the occurrence of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in sera
from 45 immunocompromised (IC) patients. The test uses rabbit
polyclonal antibodies and a mixture of components from
Aspergillus fumigatus, containing three predominant
antigens with molecular weights of 18,000, 33,000, and 56,000. Circulating antigens were found in five of seven proven cases of IA due
to A. fumigatus. In two of the five positive cases,
antigenemia was detected with inhibition-EIA earlier than with X ray or
other biological methods. No antigens were detected in the sera from two patients with proven IA due to Aspergillus flavus and
Aspergillus terreus nor in the sera from four patients with
probable IA. Circulating antigens were not detected in the control
group, composed of 30 healthy adult blood donors. Four of the 32 at-risk patients examined, though they displayed no definite evidence
of IA, gave a positive result in this test. The sensitivity,
specificity, and positive predictive value of inhibition-EIA were 71.4, 94.4, and 71.2%, respectively. The data were compared with those
obtained by a latex agglutination assay of galactomannan (GM) that was
positive in only one patient with probable IA. The higher sensitivity
obtained by inhibition-EIA may well be due to its ability to detect
circulating antigens other than GM in the sera of IC patients with IA.
Detecting these antigens may improve the diagnosis of IA, as they may
serve as markers of this infection.
0095-1137/0/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Aspergillus fumigatus Antigen Detection
in Sera from Patients at Risk for Invasive Aspergillosis
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address:
Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Hôpital Albert
Michallon, BP 217, 38043 Grenoble cedex 9, France. Phone: (33) 4 76 63 71 01. Fax: (33) 4 76 51 86 67. E-mail:
Bernabe.Chumpitazi{at}ujf-grenoble.fr.
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