EVALUATION OF 3 SEROLOGICAL TESTS FOR DETECTION OF ANTI-CANDIDAL ANTIBODIES IN DIAGNOSIS OF INVASIVE CANDIDIASIS

Immunoblot detection of antibody against 47 KD cytoplasmic antigen of Candida albicans was evaluated in diagnosis of invasive candidiasis an d compared to whole cell agglutination and gel diffusion tests for det ection of anticandidal antibody in 64 patients. The patients included 17 with culture proved candidemia, 34 with significant candiduria (mor e than 10,000 colony forming units per mi of urine) and 13 with nonsig nificant candiduria. Antibody against 47 KD antigen was found to be th e best indicator for diagnosis of invasive candidiasis even in patient s with malignancy. The sensitivity of this procedure was 82.4%, specif icity 86.7%, positive predictive value 77.8%, negative predictive valu e 89.7% and efficacy 85.1%. The gel diffusion procedure lacked in sens itivity whereas whole cell agglutination lacked in specificity. Detect ion of antibody against 47 KD antigen proved to be a valuable adjunct in the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis.