Invasive
aspergillosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients receiving
intensive care. The double-sandwich ELISA for
galactomannan is reported to have a high sensitivity (96.5%) for the detection of invasive
aspergillosis when a cut-off value of 0.8 ng/ml is used. However, we have experienced a case of lethal disseminated
aspergillosis in a patient that presented with a negative
galactomannan (GM) test and persistent elevation of beta-
D glucan (BG) levels. A 63-year-old female was admitted to our Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in acute
respiratory failure and elevated BG. She had been receiving medication for Good-pasture syndrome based on anti-glomerular basement membrane
antibodies and
myeloperoxidase-
antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies for 9 months and was receiving long-term
prednisolone therapy (20 mg/day). On admission, her trachea was immediately intubated, and a PCR analysis of the bronchoalveolar lavage sample revealed Pneumocystis jiroveci. Trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole
therapy was started for
Pneumocystis pneumonia. The levels of BG remained elevated (> 100 pg/ml) during the treatment period despite the clinical resolution of
Pneumocystis pneumonia, raising concerns of another complicated invasive
fungal disease; consequently,
fosfluconazole was administered empirically. The serum BG levels, however, did not decrease. Blood cultures did not detect a
fungal infection. Serum GM levels measured by a double-sandwich ELISA on the 6th, 11th, and 24th days in the ICU were negative (< 0.2 ng/ml). The patient ultimately died of
multiple organ failure on the 45th ICU day. Postmortem examination revealed a
disseminated fungal infection with aggressive vascular invasion of the lungs, heart, and brain. In situ hybridization with a 568-bp probe of the
alkaline proteinase sequence of Aspergillus fumigatus showed specific positive staining within the fungus present in the infected lung tissue, revealing that this patient may have had a systemic
infection by A. fumigatus or A. flavus. This is a case of serum GM-negative disseminated
aspergillosis pathologically proven by autopsy. Persistent elevated BG levels (> 100 pg/ml) refractory to
trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and
fosfluconazole may suggest possible
Aspergillus infection and should prompt the initiation of empiric anti-
aspergillosis therapies in patients at risk for
fungal infection.