Common invasive fungal diseases: an overview of invasive candidiasis, aspergillosis, cryptococcosis, and Pneumocystis pneumonia.

Common invasive fungal diseases: an overview of invasive candidiasis, aspergillosis, cryptococcosis, and Pneumocystis pneumonia. Swiss Med Wkly. 2016;146:w14281 Authors: Schmiedel Y, Zimmerli S Abstract Every year, Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus and Pneumocystis infect an estimated two million individuals worldwide. Most are immunocompromised or critically ill. Candida is the most common fungal pathogen of the critically ill and of recipients of transplanted abdominal organs. In high-risk haemato-oncological patients, in contrast, the introduction of antifungal prophylaxis with fluconazole and later with mould-active posaconazole has led to a remarkable reduction of invasive candidiasis and is likely to have a similar effect on invasive aspergillosis. Invasive aspergillosis remains the dominant invasive fungal disease (IFD) of haemato-oncological patients and solid-organ transplant recipients and is increasingly found in individuals with exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on corticosteroids. In the developed world, owing to antiretroviral therapy Pneumocystis pneumonia and cryptococcosis have become rare in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and are mainly found in solid-organ transplant recipients or immunocompromised patients. In the developing world, cryptococcosis remains a common and highly lethal disease of HIV positive individuals. With invasive candidiasis and invasive aspergillosis, timely di...
Source: Swiss Medical Weekly - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Swiss Med Wkly Source Type: research