1. Improving disseminated histoplasmosis diagnosis in HIV/AIDS patients in Suriname: The role of a urine lateral flow assay.
- Author
-
Woittiez, Lycke, Vestjens, Stefan, Mawie, Terrence, IJzerman, Ed, Haas, Pieter-Jan, Hagen, Ferry, Roosblad, Jimmy, Leopold, Stije, van Schagen, Maaike D., van Vugt, Michèle, and Vreden, Stephen
- Subjects
HISTOPLASMOSIS ,AIDS patients ,HIV-positive persons ,SYMPTOMS ,DIAGNOSIS ,URINE - Abstract
Histoplasmosis is a frequent cause of infections in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study introduces the application of a Histoplasma capsulatum urine antigen lateral flow assay (LFA) for diagnosing disseminated histoplasmosis in PLWHA in Suriname. The LFA's diagnostic accuracy was compared with the current diagnostic approach, aiming to assess whether this test resulted in improved early detection and management. Additionally, the prevalence of histoplasmosis among advanced stage HIV patients without clinical suspicion of infection was evaluated using the same LFA. In total, 98 patients were included in the study, of which 58 were classified as "possible disseminated histoplasmosis (DH)" based on clinical criteria and 40 as 'controls". Of these possible DH cases, only 19 (32.7%) had a positive LFA. During the study, decisions for treatment were made without the treating physician being aware of the LFA result. Only 55% of the patients who started treatment for histoplasmosis based on clinical criteria had a positive LFA, and 21% of untreated patients had a positive LFA. This study shows that combining clinical signs with LFA results enhances diagnostic accuracy and is cost effective, resulting in better treatment decisions. Author summary: People living with HIV in Suriname often present to care in a late stage of their infection. A common infection in these patients is Disseminated Histoplasmosis (DH). This is caused by a fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum. DH is currently difficult to diagnose. This study evaluated the use of a urine test for the diagnosis of DH, called LFA, in patients with advanced-stage HIV-infection. In the study, 98 advanced-stage HIV infected patients were included. Of these, 58 had signs and symptoms that could be attributable to DH. The other 40 patients were not suspected of DH. In all these patients the usual workup was done. The urine histoplasmosis LFA was carried out afterwards, so the result did not influence clinical decisions. We compared the clinical diagnoses of all patients to the results of the LFA. The results show that only 55% of the patients with a clinical diagnosis of DH and who started antifungal treatment had a positive LFA. Of the untreated patients 21% had a positive LFA. We conclude that treatment decisions solely based on clinical signs and symptoms lead to both over- and undertreatment and that adding this test to the clinical workup of patients suspected of DH, is cost-effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF