Abstract
To improve the outcome of invasive Candida infections, earlier empirical therapy before the establishment of the definitive diagnosis is considered to be necessary. However, appropriate use of empirical therapy for suspected candidiasis in febrile non-neutropenic surgical patients has not been defined. According to the guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, empirical therapy of suspected candidiasis in this setting should be limited to patients with Candida colonization of multiple sites, multiple other risk factors, and absence of any other causes of fever. A corrected colonization index which takes into account both the density and the degree of colonization of Candida spp. was shown to be the independent factors that predict subsequent candidal infection.
It may also be appropriate to commence empirical therapy on the basis of a positive serodiagnostic test. β-D glucan is a cell-wall constituent of fungi, which is assumed to be a marker of fungal sepsis. However, it has been shown that β-D-glucan can also be detected in patients without fungal infections, such as those on haemodialysis, and its positive predictive value is relatively low. The monoutilization of β-D-glucan for the assessment of fungal infection should therefore be avoided. The combined assessment of β-D-glucan and extent of colonization with Candida spp. is believed to have the advantage of lessening the likelihood of a false positive reaction of β-D-glucan.
