The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation
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J. Heart Lung Transplant. · Sep 2017
Pentraxin 3 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of lung transplant recipients with invasive aspergillosis.
Invasive aspergillosis is the most common invasive fungal infection in lung transplant recipients. The use of galactomannan testing in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid has improved diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis; however, false-positive results can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment. The use of proinflammatory markers such as pentraxin 3 (PTX3) may help differentiate between Aspergillus colonization and disease. ⋯ Our study shows that PTX3 measurements in BAL samples were significantly higher among patients with invasive aspergillosis and may help to identify patients with Aspergillus colonization and false-positive galactomannan in BAL samples.