Diagnostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cryptococcal antigen-lateral flow immunochromatographic assay for pulmonary cryptococcosis in non-HIV patients

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of cryptococcal antigen-lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (CrAg-LFA) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC). Methods A total pf 308 patients were divided into the PC group (n=72) and the non-PC group (n=236). The clinical data, pathogen detection, radiological imaging, and the detection of the cryptococcal antigen in blood and BALF samples were analyzed. Results The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predicted values of CrAg-LFA in the serum were 75.0%, 99.6%, 98.2%, and 92.9%, respectively, while those in the BALF were 93.1%, 100.0%, 100.0%, and 97.9%, respectively. The sensitivity of the CrAg-LFA in BALF was significantly higher than that in the serum of the patients in the PC group (P Conclusion CrAg-LFA has a higher diagnostic value for PC when analyzing BALF samples compared to serum samples.