NON-VALUE OF ASPERGILLUS ANTIGEN-DETECTION IN BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUIDS OF PATIENTS UNDERGOING BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

A commercially available antigen assay (Pastorex Aspergillus) was used to detect Aspergillus antigen in serial bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids and sera of patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (si x patients with autopsy-proven aspergillosis and 10 control patients w ithout evidence of fungal infection). Aspergillus antigen was not dete cted in 17 BAL fluids of the six patients with proven aspergillosis. I n two of the six patients the assay gave positive results in serum spe cimens. Three of the 10 control patients showed reactive BAL fluids. I t is concluded that the latex agglutination assay of BAL fluids has no value in the diagnosis of invasive (pulmonary) aspergillosis in patie nts undergoing bone marrow transplantation.