Evaluation of a Quantitative Serological Assay for Diagnosing Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of a quantitative Aspergillus IgG assay for diagnosing chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. We examined Aspergillus-specific IgG levels in patients who met the following criteria: (i) chronic (duration of >3 months) pulmonary or systemic symptoms, (ii) radiological evidence of a progressive (over months or years) pulmonary lesion with surrounding inflammation, and (iii) no major discernible immunocompromising factors. Anti-Aspergillus IgG serum levels were retrospectively analyzed according to defined classifications. Mean Aspergillus IgG levels were significantly higher in the proven group than those in the possible and control groups (P < 0.01). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the Aspergillus IgG cutoff value for diagnosing proven cases was 50 mg of antigen-specific antibodies/liter (area under the curve, 0.94; sensitivity, 0.98; specificity, 0.84). The sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing proven cases using this cutoff were 0.77 and 0.78, respectively. The positive rates of Aspergillus IgG in the proven and possible groups were 97.9% and 39.2%, respectively, whereas that of the control group was 6.6%. The quantitative Aspergillus IgG assay offers reliable sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and may be an alternative to the conventional precipitin test.

• Publication year

  2016

• Venue

  Journal of Clinical Microbiology

• Publication date

  2016-03-23

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1128/JCM.01475-15PMID 27008878PMCID 4879291
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Prognostic factors in 194 patients with chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis.

  2013cited by this paper
• Performance of two Aspergillus IgG EIA assays compared with the precipitin test in chronic and allergic aspergillosis.

  2013cited by this paper
• Clinical characteristics and prognosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis.

  2012cited by this paper
• Epidemiology of visceral mycoses in autopsy cases in Japan: comparison of the data from 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2007 in Annual of Pathological Autopsy Cases in Japan.

  2011cited by this paper
• Diagnostic significance of Aspergillus species isolated from respiratory samples in an adult pneumology ward.

  2011cited by this paper
• Clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis: a review of 43 cases.

  2010cited by this paper
• Underlying conditions in chronic pulmonary aspergillosis including simple aspergilloma

  2010cited by this paper
• Comparison of Aspergillus galactomannan antigen testing with a new cut‐off index and Aspergillus precipitating antibody testing for the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis

  2009cited by this paper
• Quantification of IgG antibodies to Aspergillus fumigatus and pigeon antigens by ImmunoCAP technology: an alternative to the precipitation technique?

  2006influential reference
• [Clinical analyses of Aspergillus infections in patients with underlying pulmonary disease].

  2004cited by this paper
• Significance of Aspergillus fumigatus Isolation from Respiratory Specimens of Nongranulocytopenic Patients

  2003cited by this paper
• Chronic cavitary and fibrosing pulmonary and pleural aspergillosis: case series, proposed nomenclature change, and review.

  2003cited by this paper
• Chronic forms of pulmonary aspergillosis.

  2001cited by this paper

• Determination of Positivity Cutoff for an Automated Aspergillus fumigatus-Specific Immunoglobulin-G Assay in a National Reference Laboratory.

  2025cites this paper
• Aspergillus IgG antibody testing in the diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis: A scoping review

  2025cites this paper
• Challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis in Japan.

  2025cites this paper
• Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: comprehensive insights into epidemiology, treatment, and unresolved challenges

  2024cites this paper
• Validity of Platelia Aspergillus IgG and Aspergillus Precipitin Test To Distinguish Pulmonary Aspergillosis from Colonization

  2022cites this paper
• Comparison of Aspergillus-specific antibody cut-offs for the diagnosis of aspergillosis

  2022influential citation
• Improved IgG antibody diagnostics of hypersensitivity pneumonitis and pulmonary mycoses by means of newly evaluated serum antibody ranges and frequencies using IgG ImmunoCAP™

  2022cites this paper
• Diagnostic accuracy of Aspergillus‐specific antibodies for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

  2021cites this paper
• Opaque hemithorax - An interesting case.

  2021cites this paper
• ELISA Test for the Serological Detection of Scedosporium/Lomentospora in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

  2020cites this paper
• Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis: Notes for a Clinician in a Resource-Limited Setting Where There Is No Mycologist

  2020cites this paper
• A Collaborative Tale of Diagnosing and Treating Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis, from the Perspectives of Clinical Microbiologists, Surgical Pathologists, and Infectious Disease Clinicians

  2020cites this paper
• Evaluation of Aspergillus-Specific Lateral-Flow Device Test Using Serum and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for Diagnosis of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis

  2019cites this paper
• Accuracy of serological tests for diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

  2019cites this paper
• Prospective study of the serum Aspergillus-specific IgG, IgA and IgM assays for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis diagnosis

  2019cites this paper
• Evaluation of LDBio Aspergillus ICT Lateral Flow Assay for IgG and IgM Antibody Detection in Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis

  2019cites this paper
• Evaluation of Aspergillus IgG, IgM antibody for diagnosing in chronic pulmonary aspergillosis

  2019cites this paper
• Diagnostic Approaches for Aspergillus Infections

  2019cites this paper
• Case Definition of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Resource-Constrained Settings

  2018cites this paper
• Role of Serological Tests in the Diagnosis of Mold Infections

  2018cites this paper
• Recent Advances in Diagnosing Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis

  2018cites this paper
• Aspergillus serology: Have we arrived yet?

  2017cites this paper