title: Routine use of a protease zymogen-based colorimetric assay for the detection of Beta-glucan and its role in clinical practice.
abstract: The detection of Aspergillus antigen (galactomannan) is considered a reliable marker for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA), yet the sensibility and specificity of the assays commonly employed in routine are not optimal. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the detection of another panfungal antigen, the (1,3)-b-D-glucan could have an auxiliary role in the identification of patients with IA. The study was carried out on 63 sera belonging to patients who had been screened for galactomannan, according to the clinical suspect of IA. Our data show that the positive galactomannan results were not confirmed by positive (1,3)-b-D-glucan results in patients receiving therapy with beta-lactam antibiotics associated with tazobactam, whereas in all the other cases, with the exception of four, the results of the (1,3)-b-D-glucan test were confirmatory of the galactomannan results.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Laboratory, Azienda Ospedaliera Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farina
authors.affiliation: Medical Mycology Committee (CoSM), Associazione Microbiologi Clinici Italiani (AMCLI), Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.affiliation: Medical Mycology Committee (CoSM), Associazione Microbiologi Clinici Italiani (AMCLI), Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andreoni
authors.affiliation: Medical Mycology Committee (CoSM), Associazione Microbiologi Clinici Italiani (AMCLI), Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Manso
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Laboratory, Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedale San Carlo Borromeo, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perin
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Laboratory, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Panellis
authors.affiliation: Medical Mycology Committee (CoSM), Associazione Microbiologi Clinici Italiani (AMCLI), Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fazii
authors.affiliation: Medical Mycology Committee (CoSM), Associazione Microbiologi Clinici Italiani (AMCLI), Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Conte
authors.affiliation: Medical Mycology Committee (CoSM), Associazione Microbiologi Clinici Italiani (AMCLI), Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanna
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostics, Clinical and Public Health Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pini
authors.affiliation: Medical Mycology Committee (CoSM), Associazione Microbiologi Clinici Italiani (AMCLI), Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blasi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003124:Colorimetry / Q000379:methods*; D004792:Enzyme Precursors / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005690:Galactose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008351:Mannans / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000737:chemistry; D011509:Proteoglycans; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D004792:Enzyme Precursors; D008351:Mannans; D011509:Proteoglycans; D047071:beta-Glucans; C012990:galactomannan; C010770:polysaccharide-K; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; D005690:Galactose