Clinical significance of the detection of Candida albicans germ tube-specific antibodies in critically ill patients.
The present study, comprising a prospective multicentre study including 53 non-neutropenic patients from intensive care units (ICU) in six Spanish tertiary-care hospitals, was carried out to determine the clinical significance and influence on mortality of Candida albicans germ tube-specific antibodies (CAGTA). There were 22 patients (41.5%) for whom the CAGTA results were positive, although none of had a blood culture positive for Candida. The intra-ICU mortality rate was significantly lower (p = 0.004) in CAGTA-positive patients (61.2% vs. 22.7%). Multivariate analysis confirmed that a positive CAGTA result was the only protective factor to be independently associated with ICU mortality (beta coefficient = -0.3856; 95% confidence interval = -0.648 to -0.123).
Intensive Care Unit, Hospital Universitario Dr Peset, Valencia, Spain. zaragoza_raf@gva.es
R
R
Zaragoza
J
J
Pemán
G
G
Quindós
J R
JR
Iruretagoyena
M S
MS
Cuétara
P
P
Ramírez
M D
MD
Gómez
J J
JJ
Camarena
A
A
Viudes
J
J
Pontón
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000908:Antibodies, Fungal / Q000097:blood*; D000946:Antigens, Fungal / Q000276:immunology*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000276:immunology*; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D013030:Spain
D000908:Antibodies, Fungal; D000946:Antigens, Fungal