[Evaluation of the antibody response and antigenemia in anti-HIV positive subjects with or without candidiasis].

As a diagnostic tool in infectious diseases by CANDIDA species, two different commercial kits have been tested. A LATEX agglutination-test for CANDIDA circulating antigens and an E.L.I.S.A. for detecting specific antibodies. We have examined 107 sets of anti-HIV + subjects (63 with positive culture and 44 negative) against 44 health controls. All controls were negative for circulating antigens, where as 27% resulted positive for specific antibodies. In the group of anti-HIV +, with positive culture for CANDIDA the 45% proved positive for CANDIDA circulating antigens, whereas only the 9.5% resulted negative. The results, shown in the present work, suggests the weight of LATEX test for its diagnostic reliability, its simplicity, while the E.L.I.S.A. for detection of specific antibodies turns out of difficult interpretation in distinguishing between common colonization and infection by CANDIDA species.