Diagnosis of Deep Infection With Candida

Abstract

The potential diagnostic value of the<i>Candida</i>precipitin test was evaluated in the population of 133 hospitalized patients suspected of having deep infection with<i>Candida</i>organisms. Precipitins were found in 26 patients and in 24 (92%) of them deep<i>Candida</i>infection was documented. Multiple surgery and leukemia were the most frequent underlying conditions among the 26 patients with deep infection with<i>Candida</i>. There were two (2%) false-negative reactions among the 107 patients in whom precipitins were not found.<i>Candida</i>precipitins were not found in 87 control subjects or individuals with other fungal diseases. Fifteen (57%) of the 26 patients with deep Candida infection received antifungal therapy and survived. Nine (81%) of the eleven patients who died had not received adequate therapy. The precipitin test may be useful in the early diagnosis of deep infection with<i>Candida</i>.