Abstract
BackgroundAt present, serum Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection is mainly used in the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), but its value in the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in non-agranulocytic patients is still unclear. IgM can be used as a marker of acute infection to help diagnose acute infection-related diseases. IgG is a marker of long-term infection and is used to assist in the diagnosis of pre-existing or chronic infection-related diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the value of serum Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection in the diagnosis of IPA and CPA in non-agranulocytic patients.MethodsFifty-eight cases of pulmonary aspergillosis (37 IPA and 21 CPA cases), 15 cases of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and 50 cases in the healthy control group were collected. The serum (1,3)-β-D-glucan test (G test) was performed with a chromogenic method, and the galactomannan test (GM test) and Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection were performed by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in all patients. The sensitivity and specificity, cut-off value and area under the curve (AUC) of Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibodies were further obtained by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.ResultsThe positive rate of the G test, Aspergillus IgG antibody detection and the GM test also showed notable differences among the IPA, CPA, community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and healthy groups (P = 0.006, P < 0.001 and P = 0.217, respectively). Only the positive rate of the GM test showed a significant difference between the IPA and CPA groups (P = 0.04). ROC curves indicated that Aspergillus IgG antibody detection had a higher specificity in the IPA group than in the CPA group (0.952). The detection of Aspergillus IgG antibody can preferably distinguish IPA from community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and healthy controls (sensitivity = 0.923, specificity = 0.459, cut-off value = 134.46, AUC = 0.727). It can also distinguish CPA from community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and healthy controls (sensitivity = 0.952, specificity = 0.692, cut-off value = 75.46, AUC = 0.873).ConclusionsSerum Aspergillus IgG antibody detection may have certain clinical value in the diagnosis of IPA and CPA in non-agranulocytic patients.
Highlights
At present, serum Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection is mainly used in the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), but its value in the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in nonagranulocytic patients is still unclear
We explored the value of the glucan test (G test), galactomannan test (GM test), and serum Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection for the diagnosis of IPA and CPA in non-agranulocytic patients
Positive rates of the above serum indexes were found among the pulmonary aspergillosis, community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and healthy groups, and Table 3 shows the statistical results
Summary
Serum Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection is mainly used in the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), but its value in the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in nonagranulocytic patients is still unclear. IgG is a marker of long-term infection and is used to assist in the diagnosis of preexisting or chronic infection-related diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the value of serum Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection in the diagnosis of IPA and CPA in non-agranulocytic patients. In recent years, the incidence of pulmonary aspergillosis in non-granulocytic patients has increased with ageing; the increase in chronic diseases; the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, hormones, and immunosuppressive drugs; and invasive operations [1, 2]. Respiratory physicians may not detect CPA until the disease progresses to an advanced stage owing to the lack of specific clinical manifestations. Patients with agranulocytosis are predominant among those with IPA, and relevant international guidelines for diagnosis and treatment focus on them [7]
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