Utility of incorporation of beta-D-glucan and T2Candida testing for diagnosis and treatment of candidemia

The additive role of non-culture-based methods for the diagnosis of candidemia remains unknown. We evaluated 2 clinical practices followed in our hospitals for the diagnosis of candidemia, namely practice#1 including a combination of blood cultures and T2Candida, and practice#2 that also included Beta-D-glucan (BDG). Three out of 96 patients testing positive with practice#1 received a complete antifungal course. Of the 120 patients evaluated with practice#2, 29 were positive. Only 55.2% of those received a complete course. We observed significant differences in antifungal utilization, with 268.5 antifungal days/1000 patient-days for practice#1, as opposed to 371.9 days for practice#2, a nearly 40% difference. However, we found similar rates of antifungal discontinuation among negative patients at 3 days of testing (36.8% and 37.0% respectively). No differences were detected in death and/or subsequent diagnosis of candidemia. In summary, addition of BDG was interpreted variably by clinicians, was associated with an increase in antifungal utilization, and did not correlate with measurable clinical benefits for patients.