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Biomarker Applications in Diagnostics of Fungal Infections

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Immunogenetics of Fungal Diseases
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Abstract

Diagnosing invasive mold disease has long been problematic owing to the inability to culture the causal fungal agent from blood or other body fluids. This has fueled an interest in nonculture-based techniques such as the detection of galactomannan in blood and bronchoalveolar fluid, the detection of beta-D-glucan in blood, and the detection of fungal DNA by PCR-based platforms. The past decades have witnessed important improvements in our understanding of the strengths and limitations of the antigen assays and in the standardization of PCR-based DNA techniques. These assays are now being incorporated into care pathways and diagnostic algorithms; they help us to steward and monitor antifungal therapies and to predict treatment outcomes.

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Maertens, J., Lagrou, K. (2017). Biomarker Applications in Diagnostics of Fungal Infections. In: Carvalho, A. (eds) Immunogenetics of Fungal Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50842-9_8

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