What is the role of the (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan assay in the screening of patients undergoing autologous haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation?

The aim of this study is to determine the clinical contribution of (1 -> i 3)-beta-D-glucan (BDG) screening in the case of patients undergoing autologous haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). The records at our stem-cell transplantation centre were reviewed to identify the patients who underwent autologous HSCT between April 2009 and December 2010. Patients were classified as having proven invasive aspergillosis (IA), probable IA, or possible IA on the basis of the criteria established by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer and Mycoses Study Group (independent of the BDG results). During the study period, the patients were screened for BDG twice a week from transplant (day 0) until engraftment. Three patients were diagnosed with probable IA and five were diagnosed with possible IA. A total of 354 serum samples from79 patients who met the study inclusion criteria were used for statistical analysis. At the cut-off value of 80 pg ml(-1), the sensitivity was 27.2% [95% confidence interval (CI); 7.3-60.6]; specificity, 94.4% (95% CI; 91.3-96.5); positive predictive value, 6.2%; and negative predictive, 93.7%. The clinical contribution of the BDG assay as a screening test was relatively limited in this cohort of patients undergoing autologous HSCT.