The Clinical Significance of Serum 1,3-β-D-Glucan For the Diagnosis of Candidemia in Severe Burn Patients

Abstract Although the serum 1,3-β-D-glucan test has been used as an early diagnostic marker of candidemia, there are few studies regarding the association of serum 1,3-β-D-glucan levels with candidemia in severe burn patients. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the clinical significance of 1,3-β-D-glucan for the diagnosis of candidemia in severe burn patients. Data from 51 severe burn patients whose serum levels of 1,3-β-D-glucan had been measured for the suspicion of invasive fungal infection were analyzed retrospectively. The primary outcome in this study was the detection of candidemia. The levels of 1,3-β-D-glucan (pg/ml) in candidemia and noncandidemia groups ranged from 41.1 to 600.0 with a median of 90.6 and from 5.0 to 41.3 with a median of 6.8, respectively. A significant difference in the levels of 1,3-β-D-glucan was observed between the two groups. The optimal cutoff value was 40 pg/ml, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 95%, whereas the conventional cutoff value (11 pg/ml) resulted in a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 68%. The 1,3-β-D-glucan test was found to be useful for detecting candidemia in severe burn patients, and the cutoff value might be set to 40 pg/ml to detect it more accurately.