Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the role of phosphopyruvate hydratase in diagnosis of invasive Candida albicans infection. Methods Forty patients were divided into three experimental groups: 18 patients were confirmed with invasive Candida albicans infection, 12 patients were clinically diagnosed with invasive Candida albicans infection and 10 patients were Candida albicans superficial colonization. Another 10 persons who had undergone physical examinations served as the negative control group. Absorbance value（OD value）of phosphopyruvate hydratase in the serum was determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）to establish a standard curve. The OD values of phosphopyruvate hydratase could reflect the antigen level in the serum. Results By a multiple comparison, the confirmed diagnosis group and clinical diagnosis group had significant differences compared with the other groups. Using ELISA to estimate consistency of phosphopyruvate hydratase in the serum and taking 0.35μg/ml as the cut-off point, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 77% and 100%.  Conclusion  Serum phosphopyruvate hydratase level was significantly higher in the invasive Candida albicans infection groups than in the colonization and healthy groups, which suggested that serum phosphopyruvate hydratase antigen could be an ideal index, and 0.35μg/ml is the ideal threshold in sensitivity and specificity of invasive Candida albicans infection.

Key words: Phosphopyruvate hydratase; Candida albicans; Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay; Diagnosis