Everything you need to know about blended learning
We take a closer look at blended learning, exploring what it is, the different models, …
Home / Healthcare & Medicine / Antimicrobial & Antibiotic Resistance / The Role of Antifungal Stewardship / How do we diagnose Candidaemia? – Part 2
How do we diagnose Candidaemia? – Part 2
How to we diagnose candidaemia part 2. This article continues to explore methods for detecting candida infections within patient samples.
© BSAC
What antifungal stewardship approaches could be used to prevent overuse of antifungals in the ICUs? What diagnostics are available and how should these be used?
β-1-3-D-glucan
- Has good sensitivity for candidaemia in the ICU setting with negative predictive value up to 99%
- Not specific to Candida
- Numerous causes for false positive results making interpretation of single positive results difficult; two consecutive positive results have a reasonable positive predictive value.
- Single negative result can be used to rule infection out if the negative predictive value calculated using local epidemiological figures approaches 100%
- Result available in 1 day
Candida mannan and anti-mannan testing
- Detects Candida mannan (a Candida specific antigen) and antibodies against Candida mannan (IgG and/or IgM)
- Performance and sensitivity are comparable to serum β-1-3-D-glucan
- Sensitivity of mannan detection alone is poor in immunocompetent patients due to phagocyte uptake of the antigen
- Sensitivity of anti-mannan detection alone is poor in immunocompromised patients with weak immune responses
- Result available in 1 day
Candida PCR on Blood
- Various Candida PCR assays are available but their sensitivity is low due to the low concentration of Candida in blood during candidaemia, and the intermittent and transient release of Candida from biofilms
- Specificity is high
- Lack of clinical research to support its use for the diagnosis of candidaemia
- May be useful as an additional tool in deep tissue candidosis, where blood culture sensitivity is much lower
- Result available in 1-2 days
T2 Magnetic Resonance Assay
- A novel rapid method using magnetic resonance analysis of blood samples to detect the five main Candida species
- Performance is similar to PCR testing at laboratory level but limited to the 5 species included
- Increasing evidence to support its use for the diagnosis of candidaemia and superiority to blood culture
- May be useful as an additional tool
- Result available in 1 day
© BSAC
-
What is imposter syndrome, and how can you deal with it?
Most people have experienced feeling like an imposter at some point in their lives, so …
Gratitude and happiness: the importance of being grateful
Discover how the simple practise of gratitude can bring a host of different benefits to …
What does sustainability mean?
Sustainability is a hot topic right now. But what does it really mean, and which …
Our purpose is to transform access to education.
We offer a diverse selection of courses from leading universities and cultural institutions from around the world. These are delivered one step at a time, and are accessible on mobile, tablet and desktop, so you can fit learning around your life.
We believe learning should be an enjoyable, social experience, so our courses offer the opportunity to discuss what you’re learning with others as you go, helping you make fresh discoveries and form new ideas.
You can unlock new opportunities with unlimited access to hundreds of online short courses for a year by subscribing to our Unlimited package. Build your knowledge with top universities and organisations.
Learn more about how FutureLearn is transforming access to education
