Guidelines for Laboratory Testing of Fungal Infections in Pulmonary and Critical Care

The American Thoracic Society provides some guidance in the use of nonculture-based testing to diagnose infection with Candida, Aspergillus, and endemic mycoses.

Sponsoring Organization: The American Thoracic Society (ATS)

Background and Objective

These guidelines are focused on the usefulness of some newer techniques for diagnosing fungal infection from the perspective of a pulmonary practitioner or the intensive care specialist. The guideline panel addressed four questions:

Is serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) testing sufficiently accurate to guide treatment decisions in immunocompromised patients suspected of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA)?
Should the diagnosis of IPA in immunocompromised patients be based on a positive Aspergillus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from blood, serum, or BAL?
Is the beta-D-glucan (BDG) assay sufficient for diagnosis in ca…

Reviewing Authors

Daniel Kaul, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNobelpharma; Pfizer

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Transplantation (Program Committee)

Daniel Kaul, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNobelpharma; Pfizer

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican Society of Transplantation (Program Committee)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Guidelines for Laboratory Testing of Fungal Infections in Pulmonary and Critical Care

Topics

Background and Objective

Reviewing Authors