Diagnosing invasive candidiasis

Abstract

Cultures are negative in 50% of invasive candidiasis. Data are emerging for the performance of nonculture tests such as mannan/antimannan, Candida albicans germ tube antibody, 1,3--D-glucan, PCR, and the T2Candida panel in diagnosing both candidemia and deep-seated candidiasis. In most settings, positive predictive values of nonculture test are low, and negative predictive values are high. For tests to be useful, clinicians must understand the pretest likelihood of invasive candidiasis and test performance for the most common disease manifestation in a given patient. This paper reviews nonculture Candida diagnostics and discusses how they might be used effectively in patient care.