Galactomannan antigenemia detection for diagnosis of invasiveaspergillosis, Part II

Until recently, the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis was most often made based on clinical and radiologic findings, which areinsensitive and non-specific.The Platelia Aspergillusgalactomannan enzyme immunoassay, which has been available in Europe for nearly a decade and in the United States since 2003, provides an aid to the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis. Part I of this article described the test methodology and those factors that may affect test performance. Part II of this article discusses guide lines and indications for performing the test and comparison of the galactomannan assay with other rapid methods.