PubMed ID: 35199648
Author(s): Xia T, Finkelman M, Kolomeyer A, Ying GS, Bracha P, Miller CG, Elnahry AG, Carroll R, Zhang Y, Saluadades A, Brucker AJ, Kim BJ. UTILITY OF OCULAR beta- d -GLUCAN TESTING IN PATIENTS WITH FUNGAL ENDOPHTHALMITIS. Retin Cases Brief Rep. 2023 Nov 1;17(6):676-682. doi: 10.1097/ICB.0000000000001266. PMID 35199648
Journal: Retinal Cases & Brief Reports, Volume 17, Issue 6, Nov 2023
PURPOSE To assess the diagnostic utility of (1→3)-β- d -glucan (BDG) in ocular fluid of patients with fungal endophthalmitis.
METHODS This prospective pilot single-center study evaluated aqueous and vitreous humor BDG levels of suspected fungal endophthalmitis, bacterial endophthalmitis, and noninfectious controls with the standard Fungitell assay and the Fungitell STAT assay. β- d -Glucan levels were compared using generalized linear models followed by post hoc pairwise comparisons.
RESULTS Seven fungal endophthalmitis, 6 bacterial endophthalmitis, and 17 noninfectious ocular samples were evaluated. Mean aqueous BDG concentrations were 204, 11.0, and 9.6 pg/mL for fungal endophthalmitis, bacterial endophthalmitis, and noninfectious controls, respectively ( P = 0.01, fungal vs. bacterial; P = 0.0005, fungal vs. noninfectious controls). Mean vitreous BDG concentrations were 165, 30.3, and 5.4 pg/mL, respectively ( P = 0.001 for fungal vs. bacterial; P < 0.0001 for fungal vs. noninfectious controls). Mean vitreous BDG index (Fungitell STAT) values were 1.7, 0.4, and 0.3, respectively ( P = 0.001, fungal vs. bacterial; P = 0.0004, fungal vs. noninfectious controls). The Pearson correlation between BDG levels and BDG index was high (correlation coefficient = 0.99, P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION Significantly elevated ocular BDG levels were found in fungal endophthalmitis compared with bacterial endophthalmitis and noninfectious controls. Our study suggests a potential utility for BDG testing in the diagnosis of fungal endophthalmitis, and a larger study is warranted.