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The fungal cell-wall component (1→3)β-d-glucan can be present in the sera of individuals with overwhelming systemic fungal infection, including those with Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP). Japanese research suggests that β-glucan levels are a good marker of this infection (Journal Watch Infectious Diseases May 23 2007). Now that a commercial assay (Fungitell; Associates of Cape Cod, Inc.) has been approved for diagnostic use in the U.S., preliminary U.S. data are becoming available.
Through a retrospective chart review, researchers at a Boston hospital identified 16 patients who had β-glucan assays performed around the time of confirmed PCP diagnoses. Only two of the patients had AIDS; the rest were at risk for PCP because of chemothera…