Evaluation of Aspergillus IgG, IgM antibody for diagnosing in chronic pulmonary aspergillosis : A prospective study from a single center in China

Abstract

Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is a slowly progressing pulmonary fungal infectious disease caused by Aspergillus. Aspergillus IgG, IgM are now considered to be valuable biomarkers in CPA diagnosing. Our research attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of Aspergillus IgG, IgM in diagnosing CPA. In our study, CPA patients were younger than the patients who suffered other pulmonary disease. The most common underlying disease in CPA patients was pulmonary tuberculosis. And the most common clinical symptom was hemoptysis. The comparison among the groups indicated statistical significance with regard to Aspergillus IgG and IgM between the CPA and other pulmonary disease groups (P < .01). The Aspergillus-specific IgG and IgM in infectious group exhibited higher levels than those in colonization group (P < .01). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of Aspergillus IgG was 0.762 (95% confidence interval: 0.664-0.860) (P < .01). Aspergillus-specific IgG offers great diagnostic value with regard to CPA. Abbreviations: AUC = area under the curve, BALF = bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, CPA = chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, ELISA = enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, NTM = nontuberculous mycobacteria, ROC = receiver operating characteristic.