Candida albicans Germ-Tube Antibody: Evaluation of a New Automatic Assay for Diagnosing Invasive Candidiasis in ICU Patients.

Testing for Candida albicans germ-tube antibody IFA IgG assay (CAGTA) is used to detect invasive candidiasis infection. However, most suitable assays lack automation and rapid single-sample testing. The CAGTA assay was adapted in an automatic monotest system (invasive candidiasis [CAGTA] VirClia IgG monotest (VirClia), a chemiluminescence assay with ready-to-use reagents that provides a rapid objective result.

Efficacy and safety of caspofungin in critically ill patients. ProCAS Study.

Introduction: Caspofungin is an echinocandin with proven efficacy in invasive candidiasis (IC) and invasive aspergillosis (IA). ProCAS is a study sponsored by the Working Group of the Infectious Diseases of the Spanish Society of Intensive Care Medicine, which analyzes the effectiveness and safety of caspofungin in routine clinical practice conditions in the critically ill.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter, observational study designed to estimate the clinical effectiveness and safety of caspofungin acetate in the treatment of IC and IA in patients refractory to or intolerant of conventional antifungal therapy.

[Candida peritonitis].

Candida spp. is a component of the endogenous flora of the digestive tract and can consequently form part of the etiology of almost any type of abdominal infection. Candida spp.

Intensive care adult patients with severe respiratory failure caused by Influenza A (H1N1)v in Spain.

Introduction: Patients with influenza A (H1N1)v infection have developed rapidly progressive lower respiratory tract disease resulting in respiratory failure. We describe the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of the first 32 persons reported to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to influenza A (H1N1)v infection in Spain.

Methods: We used medical chart reviews to collect data on ICU adult patients reported in a standardized form.

[Therapeutic efficacy of anidulafungin for the treatment of oesophageal candidiasis, candidemia and invasive candidiasis].

Anidulafungin is a new echinocandin that appears to have several advantages over existing antifungals. It is unique because it slowly degrades in humans, undergoing a process of biotransformation rather than being metabolized. It exhibits high in vitro and in vivo activities against Candida spp.