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[Determination of Candida albicans mannan antigen in serum]
Abstract:
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of Candida albicans mannan antigen in sera pretreated with pronase was used for investigation of antigenemia in 3 groups of patients: Group A: No antigen was detected in patients (n = 270), which were under control by a mycological surveillance programme. They were clinically not suspicious of candidosis and had no remarkable mycological findings. Group B: Candida antigen was detected in 13 cases of 158 patients (= 8.2%), which suffered from unclear clinical symptoms. Therefore a mycological laboratory diagnosis was performed yielding no remarkable findings neglecting the positive antigen detection. Group C: Candida antigen was also detected in 9 cases of 64 patients (= 14.0%), which were suspicious of candidosis and/or had remarkable mycological laboratory findings. The difference between the frequency of antigenemia in group B and C was not significant. According to our preliminary experiences the detection of Candida mannan antigen may support the early diagnosis of invasive candidosis. Yet antigen findings should not be separately interpreted but included in all available clinical and mycological results.
Insights
Early detection of Candida mannan antigenemia using ELISA may aid invasive candidosis diagnosis. This antigen detection should complement clinical and mycological findings for accurate patient assessment.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Immunology
- Clinical Diagnostics
Background:
- Invasive candidosis presents diagnostic challenges.
- Early detection is crucial for effective treatment.
- Current diagnostic methods may have limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the utility of detecting Candida albicans mannan antigen in patient sera for diagnosing invasive candidosis.
- To evaluate the prevalence of antigenemia in different patient groups.
Main Methods:
- An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to detect Candida mannan antigen.
- Sera from three patient groups were analyzed: controls (Group A), patients with unclear symptoms (Group B), and patients suspicious of candidosis (Group C).
- Pronase pretreatment was used for serum samples.
Main Results:
- No Candida antigen was detected in the control group (n=270).
- Antigenemia was detected in 8.2% of patients with unclear symptoms (13/158) and 14.0% of patients suspicious of candidosis (9/64).
- The difference in antigenemia frequency between Group B and C was not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
- Detection of Candida mannan antigen may support early diagnosis of invasive candidosis.
- Antigen detection should be interpreted in conjunction with comprehensive clinical and mycological data.
- Further validation is needed to establish the role of this assay in routine diagnostics.