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Fungal diseases were underestimated for many years. And the global burden of fungal infections is substantial and has increased in recent years. Invasive fungal infections have been linked to several risk factors in humans which basically depend on the individual homeostasis of the patients. However, many fungi can infect even apparently healthy people. Knowledge of these pathogens is critical in reducing or stopping morbidity and/or mortality statistics due to fungal pathogens. Successful...

Abstract Central nervous system infection with Coccidioides spp. is fatal if untreated and complications occur even when therapy is directed by experienced clinicians. We convened a panel of clinicians experienced in the management of coccidioidal meningitis to summarize current controversies and provide consensus for the management of this difficult infection.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), initially reported in 1908 in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, by Adolpho Lutz, is primarily a systemic and neglected tropical mycosis that may affect individuals with certain risk factors around Latin America, especially Brazil. Paracoccidioides brasiliensis sensu stricto , a classical thermodimorphic fungus associated with PCM, was long considered to represent a monotypic taxon. However, advances in molecular taxonomy...

Early diagnosis and prompt initiation of specific antifungal treatment are essential for improving the prognosis of mucormycosis. We aimed to assess the performance of serum Mucorales quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for the early diagnosis and follow-up of mucormycosis.We prospectively enrolled 232 patients with suspicion of invasive mold disease, evaluated using standard imaging and mycological procedures. Thirteen additional patients with proven or probable mucormycosis were...

PROBLEM/CONDITION: Coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis are underdiagnosed fungal diseases that often mimic bacterial or viral pneumonia and can cause disseminated disease and death. These diseases are caused by inhalation of fungal spores that have distinct geographic niches in the environment (e.g., soil or dust), and distribution is highly susceptible to climate changes such as expanding arid regions for coccidioidomycosis, the northward expansion of histoplasmosis, and...

Statins are competitive inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) that catalyses HMG-CoA conversion to mevalonate, a process involved in synthesizing cholesterol in humans and ergosterol in fungi. The effect of statin use on the risk of development of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in lung transplant recipients (LTRs) is not well documented.This retrospective study included LTRs from 2010 to 2017 who were followed for one-year post-transplant. Proven or...

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Voriconazole remains the drug of choice for the treatment of IA in children; however, the complex kinetics of voriconazole in children make dosing challenging and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) essential for treatment success. The overarching goal of this review is to discuss the role of voriconazole, posaconazole, isavuconazole, liposomal amphotericin B, echinocandins, and combination antifungal therapy...

Cryptococcal disease is one of the most common opportunistic infections among people living with advanced HIV disease and is a major contributor to severe illness, morbidity, and mortality, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. These guidelines update the recommendations that were first released in 2018 on diagnosing, preventing, and managing cryptococcal disease. In response to important new evidence that became available in 2021, these new guidelines strongly recommend a single high dose...

BACKGROUND: Lung transplant recipients residing in the endemic region are vulnerable to severe morbidity and mortality from Coccidioides. As infection risk persists beyond the first posttransplant year, investigations evaluating extended prophylaxis durations are needed. The purpose of this study is to assess the incidence of coccidioidomycosis among lung transplant recipients receiving universal lifelong azole antifungal prophylaxis. METHODS: Patients receiving transplants from 2013-2018...

Although combination therapy using trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole (TMP–SMX) plus echinocandins has been reported to reduce the mortality of patients with pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), it remains unclear whether it is more effective than TMP–SMX monotherapy, the current first-line treatment for this disease. Hence, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the efficacies of these treatment options for PCP. The Scopus, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, and Ichushi databases were...

Abstract Background Recent studies have reported that reduced dose trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) may be effective in the treatment of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) but data is lacking for patients with hematologic malignancies. Methods This retrospective study included all adult hematologic patients with PJP between 2013 and 2017 at six Swedish University Hospitals....

<h3>Background</h3><p>Although previous studies suggested that rituximab increases the risk of <i>Pneumocystis jirovecii</i> pneumonia (PJP), it is uncertain whether its primary prophylaxis for PJP is justified.</p><h3>Research Question</h3><p>Does the benefit of primary prophylaxis for PJP in patients receiving rituximab treatment outweigh the potential risk of the prophylaxis?</p><h3>Study Design and Methods</h3><p>This retrospective study included 3,524 patients (hematologic diseases,...

Cryptococcal meningitis is one of the most common and serious human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–related opportunistic infections among adults in sub-Saharan Africa, leading to an estimated 135,900 deaths every year.1 Under the best conditions, cryptococcal meningitis is a challenge to manage and involves high-quality medical and nursing care and often prolonged hospitalization. Much of this is driven by the fact that the best outcomes are seen when the key antifungal agent, amphotericin B,...

Background: Lung transplant recipients are at increased risk of candidemia, especially in the early posttransplant period. However, the specific predisposing factors have not been established. The natural history of candidemia after lung transplantation, in the absence of universal antifungal prophylaxis, is not known. Methods: We retrospectively examined the epidemiology of candidemia at any time posttransplant in patients who underwent lung transplantation at our center between 2016 and...

Background.  Fungal infections are responsible for >1.5 million deaths globally per year, primarily in those with compromised immune function. This is concerning as the number of immunocompromised patients, especially in those without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has risen in the past decade. The purpose of this analysis was to provide the current prevalence and impact of fungal disease in the United States. Methods.  We analyzed hospital discharge data from the most recent (2018)...

Background Invasive mucormycosis (IM) is a life-threatening fungal infection occurring mostly in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, patients with hematological malignancies, and diabetes. A sudden spurt of mucormycosis has been reported in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in India; however, there is little data about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated mucormycosis (CAM) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Methods We describe the...

Background Voriconazole is the first line treatment for invasive aspergillosis (IA) Current guidelines suggest performing regular voriconazole therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to optimize treatment efficacy. We aimed to determine if TDM was predictive of clinical outcome in LTRs. Methods Retrospective chart review was performed for all LTRs with probable or proven IA, treated with voriconazole monotherapy and who underwent TDM during therapy. Clinical outcome and toxicity were measured at...

Background Antimicrobial prophylaxis is well-accepted in the liver transplant (LT) setting. Nevertheless, optimal regimens to prevent bacterial, viral, and fungal infections are not defined. Objectives To identify the optimal antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent post-LT bacterial, fungal, and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections, to improve short-term outcomes, and to provide international expert panel recommendations. Data sources Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Cochrane...