Evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of galactomannan from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with suspected invasive pulmonary aspergillosis

BackgroundSeveral studies to evaluate the accuracy of galactomannan (GM) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) as a diagnostic tool have been carried out; however, there are still controversies about the optimal cut-off point of BALF GM.AimsThe objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy and the optimal cut-off point on BALF GM from patients with suspected invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in a tertiary care hospital.MethodsA cross-sectional study with 188 patients (≥18 years) that had undergone a bronchoscopy with BAL due to suspected IPA was carried out. IPA was diagnosed according to the EORTC/MSG guidelines.ResultsThe optimal optical density cut-off point for BALF GM was 0.67, with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 100%, 70%, 32.3%, and 100%, respectively.ConclusionsBALF GM detection proved to be a useful supplementary technique in the early diagnosis of IPA in both neutropenic and non-neutropenic patients.