1. Challenging diagnosis of chronic cerebral fungal infection: Value of (1→3)-ß-D-glucan and mannan antigen testing in cerebrospinal fluid and of cerebral ventricle puncture
- Author
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Christophe Destrieux, Louis Bernard, Adrien Lemaignen, Jean-Philippe Cottier, E. Bailly, Zoha Maakaroun, Denis Garot, Claire A Hobson, Guillaume Desoubeaux, Cécile Le Brun, and Claudia Carvalho-Schneider
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Pathology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Antifungal Agents ,Antigens, Fungal ,beta-Glucans ,Cryptococcus ,Mannans ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Cerebrospinal fluid ,Lumbar ,Central Nervous System Fungal Infections ,Antigen ,Amphotericin B ,Humans ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Aged ,Cerebrospinal Fluid ,Retrospective Studies ,Mannan ,0303 health sciences ,biology ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,Diagnostic Tests, Routine ,030306 microbiology ,business.industry ,Lumbar puncture ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,Triazoles ,biology.organism_classification ,Fungal antigen ,Healthy Volunteers ,Treatment Outcome ,Infectious Diseases ,Chronic Disease ,Cerebral ventricle ,Female ,business ,Biomarkers - Abstract
Primary fungal infection of the central nervous system (CNS) is rare but often associated with severe prognosis. Diagnosis is complicated since cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples obtained from lumbar puncture usually remain sterile. Testing for fungal antigens in CSF could be a complementary diagnostic tool. We conducted such measurements in CSF from patients with CNS fungal infection and now discuss the usefulness of ventricular puncture. Mannan and (1→3)ß-D-glucan (BDG) testing were retrospectively performed in CSF samples from three patients with proven chronic CNS fungal infection (excluding Cryptococcus), and subsequently compared to 16 controls. Results from lumbar punctures and those from cerebral ventricles were confronted. BDG detection was positive in all the CSF samples (from lumbar and/or ventricular puncture) from the three confirmed cases. In case of Candida infection, mannan antigen measurement was positive in 75% of the CSF samples. In the control group, all antigen detections were negative (n = 15), except for one false positive. Faced with suspected chronic CNS fungal infection, measurement of BDG levels appears to be a complementary diagnostic tool to circumvent the limitations of mycological cultures from lumbar punctures. In the event of negative results, more invasive procedures should be considered, such as ventricular puncture.
- Published
- 2020
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