ABSTRACT
Diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is challenging. The objective of the study was to assess the value of microbiological tests to the diagnosis of IPA in the absence of non-specific radiological data. A retrospective study of 23 patients with suspicion of IPA and positivity of some microbiological diagnostic tests was performed. These tests included conventional microbiological culture, detection of Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) antigen and in some patients (1 â 3)-ß-D-glucan (BDG) and Aspergillus fumigatus DNA using the LightCycler® SeptiFast test. In 10 patients with hematological malignancy, 6 cases were considered 'probable' and 4 'non-classifiable.' In 8 patients with chronic lung disease, 7 cases were classified as 'probable' and 1 as 'proven,' and in 5 patients with prolonged ICU stay (>7 days), there were 2 'proven' cases, 2 'non-classifiable' and 1 putative case. Microbiological culture was positive in 17 cases and 18 Aspergillus spp. were isolated (one mixed culture). A. fumigatus was the most frequent (44.4%) followed by A. tubingensis. The Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) antigen assay was positive in 21 cases (91.3%). The GM antigen and the (1 â 3)-ß-D-glucan (BDG) assays were both performed in 12 cases (52.2%), being positive in 9. The SeptiFast test was performed in 7 patients, being positive in 4. In patients with non-classifiable pulmonary aspergillosis and one or more positive microbiological tests, radiological criteria may not be considered a limiting factor for the diagnosis of IPA.
Subject(s)
Aspergillus fumigatus/isolation & purification , Diagnostic Tests, Routine/methods , Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/diagnosis , Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/pathology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Animals , Female , Humans , Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis/microbiology , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Factor V Leiden mutation (FVL), and the prothrombin G20210A mutation (PT G20210A) are polymorphisms with a weak risk factor for venous thromboembolic disease. The probability of spontaneous venous thrombosis in carriers of thrombophilic mutations (FVL and PT G20210A) was analyzed. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We studied 735 individuals (407 were healthy controls and 328 patients with venous thrombosis) with respect to FVL and PT G20210A, determined by polimerase chain reaction in liquid phase, real time. chi2 test and logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the results. The dates were analyzed with the statistical program SPSS v. 14.0. RESULTS: The carrier patients of PT G20210A mutation whose age was over 40 years had a risk factor for spontaneous venous thrombosis which was 9.28 (odds ratio [OR]) (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.01-28.60; p < 0.0005) times greater than carriers of the PT G20210A mutation who were 40 year-old or younger. In our patients, being male meant a weak risk factor for venous spontaneous thrombosis (p = 0.021; OR = 1.64; 95% CI, 1.08-2.51) . CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate a potentiation of the thrombotic risk by an increase of age in the carriers of the PT G20210A mutation.