Candidiasis: detection by gas-liquid chromatography of D-arabinitol, a fungal metabolite, in human serum.

D-Arabinitol was identified as a major metabolite of Candida species in human subjects. Gas-liquid chromatography was used to measure the concentration of D-arabinitol in serum. The study included subjects who were healthy and cancer patients who had proven invasive candidiasis or were colonized with Candida. D-Arabinitol concentrations greater than 1.0 microgram per milliliter were found in serum from patients with invasive infection. This technique may prove valuable in the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis.