Are You Underdiagnosing Coccidioidomycosis?

Dear Colleagues,

The prevailing method for diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis is serum antibody testing by immunodiffusion (ID) with a sensitivity of 84.2% and specificity of 96.5%, but a recent study found sensitivity increased to 93% and specificity to 99.4% when combining Coccidioides antibody ID plus serum and urine antigen for detection of progressive pulmonary and disseminated coccidioidomycosis. Sensitivity with combined testing was greater than 91.6% in proven and probable cases, greater than 89.9% in disseminated and pulmonary cases, and greater than 92.8% in immunocompromised and immunocompetent cases, supporting combined testing in all patients suspected to have progressive coccidioidomycosis.

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Advances in Diagnosis of Progressive Pulmonary and Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis >>