Current nonculture-based diagnosis of candidemia

Abstract

Candidemia is the most common healthcare-associated invasive fungal infection with high crude mortality rates. It primarily affects critically ill or severely immunocompromised patients, complicating early diagnosis and prompting the initiation of appropriate antifungal therapy. The gold standard for diagnosing candidemia is blood culture; however, the sensitivity of this test is low and requires at least two days for species identification. These limitations have led to the development of alternative diagnostic methods that are more sensitive and have shorter turnaround times. Here, we review the currently available methods for the nonculturebased diagnosis of candidemia, including (i) immunological diagnostics targeting Candida-related antigens, (ii) human antibodies to Candida-related antigens, and (iii) molecular diagnostics. The strengths, uses, and limitations of each methodology are discussed. Immunological diagnostics targeting Candida-related antigens and human antibodies to these antigens provide supportive evidence for diagnosing candidemia. Advances in molecular diagnostics have shown promising results in facilitating early candidemia diagnosis, potentially improving patient outcomes.