The diagnostic value of (1,3)-β-D-glucan alone or combined with traditional inflammatory markers in neonatal invasive candidiasis

BACKGROUND: Asymptom of invasive candidiasis (IC) and low positive rate of blood culture lead to delay diagnose of neonatal infection. Serum (1,3)-β-D-glucan (BDG) performs well in adult IC, but its use in neonatal IC is unclear. We evaluated the use of BDG, procalcitonin (PCT), high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) or platelet count (PC) in neonatal IC. METHODS: We collected the data of neonates admitted to our institute. Eighty neonates were enrolled, and divided into IC group, bacterial infection (BI) group and control (CTRL) group. We analyzed the difference of these indicators between groups, and generated Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve. The value of BDG in antifungal therapy efficacy assessment was also investigated. RESULTS: The BDG level was higher in IC group compared with BI and CTRL group. C. albicans lead to significant increase of BDG compared with C. parapsilosis. IC group had highest hsCRP level and lowest PC. PCT level was similar between groups. ROC showed that BDG or hsCRP performs well in neonatal IC, the optimal cut-off for BDG was 13.69 mg/ml. Combined BDG with hsCRP, PCT and PC increased diagnostic value. Serum BDG level was decreased during antifungal treatment. CONCLUSION: Serum BDG performs well in identification of neonatal IC and in monitoring the antifungal therapy efficacy.