title: β-D-Glucan Screening for Detection of Invasive Fungal Disease in Children Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.
abstract: While the assessment of β-D-glucan (BDG) levels in adults improves the early diagnosis of invasive fungal disease (IFD), data on BDG levels in children are limited. We therefore assessed in a prospective cohort study the value of serial BDG screening for early detection of IFD in children undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). IFD was defined according to the revised European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycosis Study Group (EORTC/MSG) criteria, with the necessary modification that BDG was not included as a microbiological criterion. For the analysis, a total of 702 serum samples were obtained in 34 pediatric HSCT recipients. Proven IFD occurred in two patients (fusariosis and Candida sepsis, respectively), and probable invasive aspergillosis was diagnosed in four patients. Analyses including different cutoff values for BDG levels and different definitions of the onset of IFD demonstrated that the BDG assay has a relatively high sensitivity and good negative predictive value, whereas the positive predictive value has major limitations (<30%). Receiver operating characteristic analyses suggested an optimal cutoff between 60 and 70 pg/ml for different definitions of the onset of IFD. Our data show that BDG screening in pediatric HSCT recipients has a low positive predictive value and is therefore of limited usefulness.
authors.affiliation: Division for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koltze
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rath
authors.affiliation: Division for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schöning
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steinmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Wichelhaus
authors.affiliation: Division for Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunology, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.affiliation: Division for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bochennek
authors.affiliation: Division for Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany thomas.lehrnbecher@kgu.de.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lehrnbecher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011509:Proteoglycans; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D044967:Serum / Q000737:chemistry; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000009:adverse effects*; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011509:Proteoglycans; D047071:beta-Glucans; C010770:polysaccharide-K