Invasive candidiasis is a fungal infection of the blood or organs that is associated with high morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Current diagnosis is based on blood culture, which typically takes 2 days to confirm the presence of Candida, and longer for differentiating the species and sensitivities to antifungal drugs. Administration of antifungal treatment is time-critical, hence critically ill patients considered ‘at-risk’ of Candida infection are often started on antifungal treatment pending test results. However, many of these patients may not have empirical treatment stopped when test results become available because of concerns about the sensitivity of blood culture. The Antifungal STewardship Opportunities study is a multisite national diagnostic test accuracy study investigating the use of rapid tests in the intensive care unit that have the potential to influence decision-making.
