A latex agglutination test has been performed to detect a heat sensitive circulating antigen in patients with disseminated candidal infection. Latex is sensitized with rabbit serum immunized with whole heat killed Candida albicans blastoconidia. Contr...
A latex agglutination test has been performed to detect a heat sensitive circulating antigen in patients with disseminated candidal infection. Latex is sensitized with rabbit serum immunized with whole heat killed Candida albicans blastoconidia. Control latex is sensitized with the same dilution of normal rabbit serum in order to differentiate nonspecific agglutination.
Sera from a number of patient groups were tested. Normal controls as well as patients colonized with candida species had no significant antigen titers. Patients with chronic renal failure and bacteremia had antigen titers less than 1:4. All of the patients with documented and suspected candidiasis had antigen titers of 1:4 to 1:16.
After consecutive administration of amphotericin B, high antigen levels returned to the normal range in a few days.