Objective To investigate the risk factors，clinical features and outcome of invasive aspergillosis（IA） in nonneutropenic patients.Methods Fifty-four patients with IA at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from Jan 2001 to Dec 2006 were analyzed retrospectively.According to the definitions of EORTC/MSG，proven diagnosis was made in 9 cases，probable diagnosis in 30 cases and possible diagnosis in 15 cases.Results In the neutropenic group（n=24），hematological malignancies were the major underlying conditions（n=20）.In nonneutropenic group（n=30），the main underlying condition was steroid-treated COPD（n=11）.Fever，dyspnea，cough，chest pain and haemoptysis were commonly symptoms.Thoracic computed tomography showed that segmental consolidation occurred more frequently in neutropenic patients，whereas diffuse nodules more frequently in nonneutropenic patients.Nodules or consolidation with evidence of cavity lesion had a higher sensitivity than the halo sign or air crescent sign in both groups.The total mortality of IA was 72.2%.The mortality of nonneutropenic group was higher than that of neutropenic group（83.3% vs 58.3%，P=0.042）.Multivariate analysis showed that secondary central nerves system IA and delayed diagnosis were associated with poor outcome of IA.Conclusion There were high incidence and mortality of IA among nonneutropenic patients，especially those with COPD treated with long-term corticosteroids.
Objective To assess the quality of current domestic literature about enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for invasive aspergillosis diagnosis by detecting Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) antigen, and to analyze the sources of bias and variability, as well as the diagnostic ability of different thresholds. Methods Both computer-based online search and manual retrieval were employed to identify relevant articles. The statistical information and quality of science were assessed and classified. The data were analyzed using Meta Disc 1.4 software. The best cutoff value for defining a positive test result was selected by summarizing the following statistical indicators as sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio (LR) and summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC curve), and by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) as well. Results A total of 20 studies among 2658 literatures were included in accordance with the inclusion criteria, and were divided into different groups based on different cutoff values. Though heterogeneity tests showed no threshold effect, and there were other reasons of heterogeneity. So the data were analyzed by random effects model. The results showed that, compared with other groups, the one with cutoff value set at 0.7 (AUC=0.9456, Q= 0.884 6) showed the best accuracy in diagnosing. Conclusion ELISA detection of Aspergillus GM antigen with cutoff value set at 0.7 has important significance in the early diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis, and it can be conducive to reduce mortality in patients at high risk for Aspergillus infection.