aspergillosis

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate the clinical use of voriconazole in psittacine patients for the treatment of suspected respiratory fungal infections. ANIMALS: 14 client-owned psittacine birds. METHODS: Medical records were searched from 2012 to 2023 for voriconazole use in psittacines. Species, age, clinical signs, physical examination findings, CT reports, bloodwork results, treatment, and outcome were obtained from the records or client follow-up...

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) often necessitates treatment with systemic steroids and antifungals, which are associated with relapses and side effects. We report an 82-year-old woman with eosinophilic asthma, experiencing sputum production and dyspnea, who was diagnosed with ABPA based on her chest CT, pulmonary function tests, and elevated blood eosinophils and immunoglobulin E. Due to the presence of osteoporosis and diabetes, standard steroid therapy was considered a high risk. Instead, we administered dupilumab, an interleukin 4 receptor alpha (IL4-Rα) antibody targeting Th2 cytokine signaling...

Eosinophilic inflammation is primarily characterized by type 2 immune responses against parasitic organisms. In the contemporary human being especially in developed countries, eosinophilic inflammation is strongly associated with allergic/sterile inflammation, and constitutes an undesired immune reaction. This situation is in stark contrast to neutrophilic inflammation, which is indispensable for the host defense against bacterial infections. Among eosinophilic inflammatory disorders, massive accumulation of eosinophils within mucus is observed in certain cases, and is often linked to the distinctive clinical finding of mucus with high viscosity...

This study aimed to determine the level of IL-8 in diagnosing of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). We conducted this study with 50 controls and 25 IPA patients with haematological malignancies. Demographic data, hematological diagnoses, chemotherapy regimen, galactomannan level, fungal culture, and computed tomography findings of the patients were evaluated prospectively. IL-8 levels were studied with the ELISA method. The mean age of patients in the case group was 60.84±15.38 years, while that of the controls was 58...

Central nervous system (CNS) aspergillosis is uncommon in immunocompetent patients. We present a 64-year-old man with chronic otitis media and uncontrolled diabetes. Aspergillus flavus was identified in cerebrospinal fluid via metagenomics next-generation sequencing technology. Initial voriconazole treatment offered limited relief, but personalized dosage adjustments, guided by drug concentration, led to remission. This case underscores the importance of diverse diagnostic approaches and tailored therapy for CNS Aspergillus infections...

AIMS OF THE STUDY: Invasive mould infections are life-threatening complications in patients with haematologic cancer and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. While invasive aspergillosis represents the main cause of invasive mould infections, non-Aspergillus mould infections, such as mucormycosis, are increasingly reported. Consequently, their local epidemiology should be closely monitored. The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of an increased incidence of non-Aspergillus mould infections in the onco-haematology unit of a Swiss tertiary care hospital...

INTRODUCTION: A long-term ruxolitinib-treated patient with primary myelofibrosis, who was co-infected with aspergillosis infection during a short period, developed acute invasive fungal sinusitis with consequent orbit apex syndrome. This may be the first reported case in the world. This is a 75-year-old Chinese man; the patient was admitted with 2-month history of headache accompanied by numbness and 8-day history of vision loss. The preliminary clinical diagnoses were suspected acute invasive fungal sinusitis or adenoid cystic carcinoma...

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is a severe fungal infection primarily affecting immunocompromised individuals. However, rare cases of IPA in immunocompetent patients have been reported, presenting diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Here, we present a case of a 41-year-old immunocompetent male who presented with fever, cough with mucoid expectoration, and breathlessness. Despite the absence of traditional risk factors, imaging and laboratory findings led to the diagnosis of IPA. Prompt initiation of antifungal therapy resulted in clinical improvement...

BACKGROUND: Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is an underrecognized but common complication of pulmonary tuberculosis. In Nigeria, a tuberculosis-endemic country, there is currently no provision to monitor the development of CPA in patients treated for tuberculosis. This study determined the prevalence and incidence of CPA in Lagos, Nigeria. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study of patients with previously managed tuberculosis was conducted between June 2021 and May 2022...

CONTEXT: Numerous pathogens (bacteria, viruses, or fungi) can cause childhood pneumonia. The clinical presentations of viral and bacterial pneumonia can be similar. Though viruses are a more common cause as compared to bacteria, antibiotics remain the first line of treatment for pneumonia. AIMS: This study was planned to describe the pulmonary histopathological patterns in cases of pediatric pneumonia (age <12 years) at autopsy and aimed to identify the probable etiology and correlate with clinical presentations...

Mucormycosis is the third most frequent invasive mycosis, following candidiasis and aspergillosis. It is frequently neglected due to its rare occurrence; but recently attend the status of notifiable disease due to its higher incidence in both developed and developing nations. India has received global notice since its estimated instances were greater than the global estimated figures. Mucormycosis has several clinical manifestations, including rhino-orbital-cerebral (ROCM), pulmonary, gastrointestinal, cutaneous, renal, and diffuse Mucormycosis...

We studied patients diagnosed with aspergillosis based on positive bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) who had follow-up BAL sampling within 180 days. GM trend and clinical outcome were concordant in only 60% (30/50). While useful for the initial diagnosis, BAL GM trending does not always correlate with treatment response.

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is the most severe type of Aspergillus infection. Yunnan has developed agriculture, and the proportion of triazole-resistant A. fumigatus induced by triazole fungicides is much higher than that in other regions of China. Inhalation of triazole-resistant A. fumigatus is one of the main factors inducing IA. We gathered five strains of A. fumigatus from the sputum or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with IA in Yunnan. Subsequent testing showed that all of these strains were resistant to triazoles and harboured mutations in the tandem repeat sequence of the cyp51A promoter region, suggesting that they may be triazole-resistant A...

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of poultry aspergillosis and evaluate the accuracy of histopathology (test under evaluation) and mycological culture (an imperfect reference test). Farms raising layer and breeder or broiler birds, with suspected aspergillosis cases, clinical or subclinical, were eligible and visited for sampling. After necropsy, histopathology and mycological culture examinations were conducted by two evaluators. A Bayesian latent class model was used to estimate the accuracy of histopathology when compared to the imperfect reference test, mycological culture...

INTRODUCTION: Invasive mould infections (IMIs) are a leading cause of death in patients with compromised immune systems. Proven invasive mould infection requires detection of a fungus by histopathological analysis of a biopsied specimen, sterile culture, or fungal DNA amplification by PCR in tissue. However, the clinical performance of a PCR assay on blood samples taken from patients suspected of invasive mould disease has not been fully evaluated, particularly for the differential diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) and invasive Mucormycosis (IM)...

BACKGROUND: Invasive aspergillosis is a severe fungal infection that affects multiple organ systems including the CNS and the lungs. Isavuconazole, a novel triazole antifungal agent, has demonstrated promising activity against Aspergillus spp. However, data on the penetration of isavuconazole into the CNS and ELF and intracellular accumulation remain limited. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective single-centre pharmacokinetic (PK) study in 12 healthy volunteers...

OBJECTIVE: This study examined whether bronchoscopy leads to clinicoradiological improvement in cystic fibrosis (CF) and the predictive factors. The study also investigated whether pulmonary atelectasis is a poor prognostic factor in CF. METHODS: This multicenter, case-control, observational, retrospective study included two groups of patients with CF: a case group (patients with persistent atelectasis who were followed-up at least for 2 years) and a control group (patients without atelectasis matched 1:1 by sex and age [±3 years])...

A 27-year-old female visited our hospital with a history of asthma, peripheral blood eosinophilia, increased total IgE, Aspergillus fumigatus specific IgE, reversible mild bronchiectasis, sinusitis, bronchial mucus plugs and cultivation of Aspergillus from BALF. Glucocorticoids therapy is effective. These results met the diagnostic criteria for both allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPM) and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA). Special attention should be paid to the possibility of both diseases coexisting in the disease process...

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The diagnostic performance of a prospective, systematic screening strategy for COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) during the COVID-19 pandemic was investigated. Patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU were screened for CAPA twice weekly by collection of tracheal aspirate (TA) for Aspergillus culture and PCR. Subsequently, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) sampling was performed in patients with positive screening results and clinical suspicion of infection. Patient data were collected from April 2020-February 2022...