[Antibody monstration in blastomyces infections].

The evidence of humoral antibodies against yeasts can be a valuable help in the diagnosis of such infections. It is however necessary to use several sensitive methods, which complete one another in the detection of the different immunoglobulins. In the interpretation of the results the titer dynamic is decisive, especially in those patients whose antibody answer is suppressed by their disease and/or their therapeutic treatment. In most of the yeast infections Candida albicans can be used as antigen for the detection of antibodies because there is a strong relationship between the antigens of most of the yeasts important in human infections. C. krusei, C. pseudotropicalis and C. guilliermondii do not display enough common antigens to make a diagnosis against these yeasts possible with C. albicans. In that case homologous antigens have to be used. Cross reactions with other microorganisms are less frequent than usually supposed. Therefore so called false positive Candida titers have to be examined very carefully by clinical signs and culture methods.