beta-D-Glucan Detection Test: A Step Toward Preemptive Therapy for Fungal Infections in Leukemic Patients?

摘要

Invasive fungal infections are still a challenge in patients with prolonged neutro-penia. The incidence is often >10% during neutropenia after induction or consolidation therapy for acute leukemia [1, 2]. Invasive fungal infections still carry a 30%-50% mortality rate for invasive as-pergillosis and an ~40% mortality rate for invasive candidiasis, despite the recent development of new antifungal agents. The death rates in monocentric retrospective studies are always higher than in clinical trials. For instance, we observed a 52% 12-week survival rate for patients with invasive aspergillosis in our medical center, compared with a 71% survival rate for patients treated with voriconazole and a 72% survival rate for patients treated with liposomal amphotericin B in 2 recent clinical trials [3-5]. Similarly, Pagano et al