CASE REPORT: A healthy 24-year-old man cleaned the gutters on his 16-year-old fishing cabin on a lake in Wisconsin. He presented for medical evaluation 12 days later for symptoms of fever, malaise and cough of 5 days’ duration. Physical findings included a temperature of 100.5°F and the spleen tip that was palpable on examination. Chest radiograph showed right hilar and anterior mediastinal lymphadenopathy and miliary infiltrates. Histoplasmosis was suspected and urine was sent to MiraVista Diagnostics for Histoplasma antigen, which was negative.
QUESTION: Does a negative urine antigen exclude pulmonary histoplasmosis?
Most clinicians only order antigen on urine and do not recognize the value of testing serum. Analysis of the results obtained in 158 patients at one institution between 2014-2019 in whom both urine and serum were tested and at least one was positive are presented in the table below.