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Discordant rise in galactomannan antigenemia in a patient with resolving Aspergillosis, renal failure, and ongoing hemodialysis.

El Saleeby CM, Allison KJ, Knapp KM, Walsh TJ, Hayden RT

Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105-2794, USA.

We describe the case of a patient with improving invasive aspergillosis and paradoxically rising serum galactomannan levels in the presence of chronic renal failure and ongoing hemodialysis. Dialysate tested negative for galactomannan, demonstrating the inability of treatments such as hemodialysis to clear Aspergillus antigen from serum. In patients with renal failure and aspergillosis, rising serum galactomannan levels may not necessarily signify progressive infection.

Published 7 July 2005 in J Clin Microbiol, 43(7): 3560-3.
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