{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]],"date-time":"2026-06-12T02:57:17Z","timestamp":1781233037932,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781136000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JoF"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cryptococcosis is associated with negative serum (1\u21923)-\u03b2-D-glucan (BDG) results, but the clinical significance of serum BDG (sBDG) positivity is unclear. We characterized the clinical features of sBDG-positive cryptococcosis in patients with cryptococcal disease. We measured the sBDG levels and classified patients as BDG-positive (&gt;11 pg\/mL) or BDG-negative. Clinical characteristics, diagnostic modalities, antifungal treatment, post-treatment BDG level changes, and 90-day cryptococcosis-related mortality were compared. BDG-positive patients showed disseminated cryptococcosis, higher inflammatory marker levels, lower serum albumin levels, higher culture positivity rates, and higher cryptococcal antigen titers than BDG-negative patients. Combination antifungal therapy was administered more frequently in the BDG-positive group; repeat measurements in 15 patients showed a significant decrease in sBDG levels. The 90-day mortality rate was significantly higher in the BDG-positive than in the BDG-negative group (37.5% vs. 3.9%), and overall survival was significantly lower. sBDG levels may be elevated in cases of disseminated or severe disease. Serum BDG positivity may reflect a higher fungal burden, greater disease severity, and poorer short-term outcomes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jof12060427","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]],"date-time":"2026-06-12T01:52:08Z","timestamp":1781229128000},"page":"427","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Clinical Significance of Serum (1\u21923)-\u03b2-D-Glucan Positivity in Cryptococcosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-7182-6618","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aoi","family":"Miyazaki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shohei","family":"Hamada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hiroko","family":"Okabayashi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kimitaka","family":"Akaike","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aiko","family":"Masunaga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shinichiro","family":"Okamoto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9680-7559","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yusuke","family":"Tomita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hidenori","family":"Ichiyasu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Takuro","family":"Sakagami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kumamoto University Hospital, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1748","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(22)00499-6","article-title":"The Global Burden of HIV-Associated Cryptococcal Infection in Adults in 2020: A Modelling Analysis","volume":"22","author":"Rajasingham","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet Infect. 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