Abstract
Background: The present study aimed 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: The subjects collected from March 2015 to October 2018 in 4 hospitals were divided into the pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC) group (n=72) and the non-pulmonary cryptococcosis (non-PC) group (n=236). The patients in the PC group were diagnosed by lung biopsy. 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. Hence, the sensitivity of the CrAg-LFA in BALF was significantly higher than that in the serum of the patients in the PC group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The CrAg-LFA is a rapid, simple and safe experimental method. CrAg-LFA in BALF samples can offer higher diagnostic value for PC than that noted in the serum samples of PC subjects. Furthermore, the BALF positive results were equivalent to the microbiological culture positive results in terms of diagnostic value.