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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2009, p. 3871-3874, Vol. 47, No. 12
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01756-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Serum (1-3)-β-D-Glucan as a Tool for Diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection or Hematological Malignancy {triangledown}

Stefanie Desmet,1 Eric Van Wijngaerden,2 Johan Maertens,3 Jan Verhaegen,1 Eric Verbeken,4 Paul De Munter,2 Wouter Meersseman,2 Britt Van Meensel,1 Johan Van Eldere,1 and Katrien Lagrou1*

Departments of Medical Diagnostic Sciences,1 General Internal Medicine,2 Hematology,3 Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium4

Received 7 September 2009/ Returned for modification 28 September 2009/ Accepted 13 October 2009

(1-3)-β-D-Glucan (BG) reactivity was tested in serum samples from 28 patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection or a hematological malignancy and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) and 28 control patients. The sensitivity and specificity of BG detection with the Fungitell assay for PCP were 100 and 96.4%, respectively, using a cutoff value of 100 pg/ml. Serum BG testing looks promising for the noninvasive diagnosis of PCP. Our data suggest that a higher cutoff value for the diagnosis of PCP than for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis or candidiasis could be used safely and will improve the specificity of the test.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: University Hospitals Leuven, Dienst Laboratoriumgeneeskunde, Herestraat 49, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Phone: 32 16 34 79 02. Fax: 32 16 34 79 31. E-mail: katrien.lagrou{at}uz.kuleuven.be

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 21 October 2009.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2009, p. 3871-3874, Vol. 47, No. 12
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01756-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

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