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| Beta D Glucan (Fungitell) | ||
| Order Code: BDGLUCAN
Order Form: A-1a Miscellaneous Request or IPR Req |
Commercial "Mail-out" Laboratory 6240 RCP 356-3527 |
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Specimen |
Serum | ||
Collection Medium: |
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Minimum: |
Preferred adult minimum: 1.0 mls serum Absolute adult minimum: 0.5 mls serum | ||
Rejection Criteria: |
Hemolyzed, lipemic, or icteric specimens. | ||
Analytic Time: |
5 working days | ||
Reference Range: |
Reference Values Negative: Less than 60 pg/mL Indeterminate: 60 - 79 pg/mL Positive: Greater than or equal to 80 pg/mL The Fungitell assay is indicated for presumptive diagnosis of fungal infection. It should be used in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures. The Fungitell assay does not detect certain fungal species such as the genus Cryptococcus, which produces very low levels of (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan . This assay also does not detect the Zygomycetes, such as Absidia, Mucor, and Rhizopus, which are not known to produce (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan. | ||
Comments: |
Clinical Significance Normal human serum contains low levels of (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan, typically 10-40 pg/mL, presumably from commensal yeasts present in the alimentary canal and gastrointestinal tract. Most pathogenic fungi have (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan in their cell walls and minute quantities are sloughed into the circulation during the life cycle. Thus, (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan appears in the serum in cases of invasive fungal infection (IFI). Monitoring serum (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan for evidence of elevated and rising levels provides a convenient surrogate marker for IFI. Levels above 80 pg/mL, in at-risk patients, are considered positive. Because a fungal infection is a dynamic process, repeat testing, typically 2-3 times per week, improves sensitivity. Time courses of serum (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan levels through the course of an infection have been shown to exhibit a rising level which falls in response to efficacious therapy. [Kondori N., Edebo L., and Mattsby-Baltzer I. Circulating (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan and Immunoglobulin G subclass antibodies to antibodies to candia albicans cell wall antigens in patients with systemic candidiasis. Clinical and diagnostic Laboratory Immunology. 11(2):344-350 (2004) The Fungitell assay is indicated for presumptive diagnosis of fungal infection. It should be used in conjunction with other diagnostic procedures. The Fungitell assay does not detect certain fungal species such as the genus Cryptococcus, which produces very low levels of (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan . This assay also does not detect the Zygomycetes, such as Absidia, Mucor, and Rhizopus, which are not known to produce (1->3)-Beta-D-glucan. | ||
Methodology: |
Infectious agent antigen detection by enzyme immunoassay technique | ||
CPT Code: |
87449 |
Updated: 05/14/2007
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