Influence of Open and Laparoscopic Abdominal Surgery Involving the Intestinal Tract on Serum 1,3-ß-D-Glucan (BDG) Values

Candida species are both known to colonize physiologically mucosal surfaces in the human body without causing signs or symptoms of infection and to cause a wide variety of diseases, including mucocutaneous infections and potentially fatal invasive infections of the bloodstream or organs. Throughout the past decades, invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are of increasing importance even in non-neutropenic patients who are in need of treatment in intensive care units (ICU) or have undergone major surgeries. Several factors like parenteral nutrition, central venous catheters, broad spectrum antibiotics admission, disturbance of gastrointestinal mucosa integrity have been associated with an increased incidence of IFIs. Positive testing for 1,3-ß-D-Glucan (BDG) in serum is widely used to assess invasive fungal infections. It detects circulating BDG, which is part of the fungal cell wall of clinical relevant fungi such as Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp..

The issue of BDG kinetics after intestinal mucosal damage (e.g. mucositis or gut surgery) is poorly understood. Intestinal mucosal damage is characterized by a loss of integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier and increasing translocations of bacterial and/or fungal commensals of the gastrointestinal tract.

In abdominal surgery a key concern in serum BDG kinetics is the potential introduction of BDG from surgical sponges and gauze or mucosal damage due to surgical damage of the mucosal integrity. Compared to open abdominal surgery in laparoscopic abdominal surgery sponges and gauze are rarely used. As life-threatening intraabdominal candidiasis occurs in 30 to 40% of high-risk abdominal surgical intensive care unit (ICU) patients it is of utmost importance to obtain reliable BDG values for diagnosis or exclusion of invasive candidiasis.