Abstract:

Objective To investigate the diagnosis significance of the detection of (1,3)-beta-D glucan (BDG) assay(G test) and CD4⁺T lymphocyte count for invasive fungal disease (IFD) in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Methods A total of 297 patients with AIDS from the Tenth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were enrolled from January 2013 to May 2014. They were suspected to suffer from IFD. Before receiving anti-fungal treatment, G test and CD4⁺T lymphocyte count were performed and detected simultaneously. According to the diagnosis standard of IFD, the patients were classified into IFD group (including possible, probable and proven diagnosis) and non-IFD group. G test for diagnosing IFD was analyzed for sensitivity and specificity, respectively. G test and CD4⁺T lymphocyte count were combined to evaluate the diagnosis sensitivity and specificity. Results The sensitivity and specificity of G test for diagnosing IFD in AIDS patients were 75.3% and 87.4%, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of G test was analyzed, and the area under the curve was 0.861 (95% confidence interval 0.720-0.865). The sensitivity and specificity were 92.9% and 88.8% in the combined determination of G test and CD4⁺T lymphocyte count. Conclusions G test is useful in the diagnosis of IFD among patients with AIDS, and the clinical application significance is improved when it is combined with CD4⁺T lymphocyte count for diagnosing IFD with AIDS.

Key words: (1, 3)-beta-D glucan, CD4+T lymphocyte count, Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Invasive fungal disease