Detection of Aspergillus fumigatus in Blood Samples from Critically Ill Patients in Intensive Care Units by Use of the SeptiFast Assay

Joerg Steinmann; Jan Buer; Peter-Michael Rath

doi:10.1128/JCM.00478-16

Detection of Aspergillus fumigatus in Blood Samples from Critically Ill Patients in Intensive Care Units by Use of the SeptiFast Assay

J Clin Microbiol. 2016 Jul;54(7):1918-1921. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00478-16. Epub 2016 May 4.

Authors

Joerg Steinmann¹, Jan Buer², Peter-Michael Rath²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany [email protected].
² Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.

Abstract

We retrospectively analyzed the performance and relevance of the SeptiFast assay in detecting Aspergillus fumigatus DNA in whole blood samples from 38 critically ill intensive care unit (ICU) patients with probable or proven invasive aspergillosis (IA) and 100 ICU patients without IA. The assay exhibited 66% sensitivity, 98% specificity, a 93% positive predictive value, and an 88% negative predictive value. A. fumigatus DNAemia was associated with poor outcome.

Publication types

Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aspergillus fumigatus / genetics
Aspergillus fumigatus / isolation & purification*
Blood / microbiology*
Critical Illness*
DNA, Fungal / genetics
DNA, Fungal / isolation & purification*
Female
Humans
Intensive Care Units
Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis / diagnosis*
Male
Middle Aged
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / methods*
Predictive Value of Tests
Retrospective Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

DNA, Fungal