Role in Diagnostics
β-D-Glucan forms part of the cell wall of certain medically important fungi, especially Aspergillus and Agaricus species. An assay to detect its presence in blood is marketed as a means of diagnosing invasive fungal infection in patients.
False positives may occur because of fungal contaminants in the antibiotics amoxicillin-clavulanate, and piperacillin/tazobactam. False positives can also occur with contamination of clinical specimens with the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Alcaligenes faecalis which also produce (1→3)β-D-glucan.
Read more about this topic: Beta-glucan
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