Utility of fungal blood cultures for patients with AIDS.

This study was designed to define the clinical utility of fungal blood cultures for human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected individuals. A retrospective chart review was performed for all patients admitted to an inpatient AIDS unit who had evidence of an invasive fungal infection. During a 25-month period, 1,162 fungal blood cultures were performed for 322 patients. These cultures, along with bacterial blood cultures, resulted in the isolation of fungi from 26 patients; 15 of these isolates were considered true pathogens. Routine blood cultures were positive for the fungal isolates in all 15 cases: Candida species and Candida glabrata (6 cases), Cryptococcus neoformans (7), Coccidioides immitis (1), and Histoplasma capsulatum (1). All invasive fungal infections were diagnosed by other means before fungal blood cultures were reported as positive. The results of this study suggest that the routine performance of such cultures in clinical practice should be reevaluated.

[1]  D. Denning,et al.  Uncommon invasive mycoses in AIDS. , 1995, AIDS.

[2]  J. Ward,et al.  Coccidioidomycosis among persons with AIDS in the United States. , 1995, The Journal of infectious diseases.

[3]  L. Reller,et al.  Controlled comparison of the BACTEC high-blood-volume fungal medium, BACTEC Plus 26 aerobic blood culture bottle, and 10-milliliter isolator blood culture system for detection of fungemia and bacteremia , 1993, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[4]  J. Bartlett,et al.  Update on management of opportunistic infections in patients with HIV infection , 1993 .

[5]  D. Wight.  Bacterial and Fungal Infections , 1993 .

[6]  E. Prevost-Smith,et al.  Value of extended agitation and subculture of BACTEC NR 660 aerobic resin blood culture bottles for clinical yeast isolates , 1992, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[7]  R. Thomas,et al.  Diagnosis of Systemic Histoplasmosis in Patients With AIDS , 1992, Southern medical journal.

[8]  G. Sarosi,et al.  Disseminated histoplasmosis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus. , 1992, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[9]  P. Gilligan,et al.  Comparison of the PREMIER cryptococcal antigen enzyme immunoassay and the latex agglutination assay for detection of cryptococcal antigens , 1991, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[10]  M. Menegus,et al.  Cumulative positivity rates of multiple blood cultures for Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare and Cryptococcus neoformans in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. , 1990, Archives of pathology & laboratory medicine.

[11]  M. Shapiro,et al.  Diagnostic value of bacterial and fungal blood cultures in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. , 1990, The American journal of medicine.

[12]  A. Pablos-Mendez,et al.  Infections associated with Hickman catheters in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. , 1989, The American journal of medicine.

[13]  N. Ampel,et al.  Fungemia Due to Coccidioides immitis: AN ANALYSIS OF 16 EPISODES IN 15 PATIENTS AND A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE , 1986, Medicine.

[14]  R. Tewari,et al.  Diagnosis of disseminated histoplasmosis by detection of Histoplasma capsulatum antigen in serum and urine specimens. , 1986, The New England journal of medicine.

[15]  E. Gelmann,et al.  Cryptococcosis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. , 1985, Annals of internal medicine.