Histoplasmosis as a cause for a positive Fungitell™ (1→3)-β-D-glucan test

Abstract

We evaluated the Fungitell™ beta-glucan (BG) test with specimens from patients with presumed histoplasmosis. The sensitivity of the test was 87% in histoplasmosis cases and had a specificity of 68% with controls. Histoplasmosis should be considered as a possible cause for a positive BG test, but such results may be found with many other conditions that are clinically similar to this fungal disease. Therefore, there is a need to conduct confirmatory tests for histoplasmosis in the appropriate clinical setting.

• histoplasmosis
• beta-glucan
• antigen detection