Mucormycosis in Solid Organ Transplant

AbstractPurpose of reviewAlthough mucormycosis remains an uncommon opportunistic fungal infection, new advances in diagnostic testing and in treatment have evolved to manage patients with such infections. The goal of this review is to determine how such advances have affected the management of mucormycosis.Recent FindingsFungal prophylaxis with voriconazole or caspofungin may increase the risk of mucormycosis in transplant recipients. Imaging the affected organ systems permits the extent of disease to be delineated and can inform decisions on surgical therapy. First-line treatment includes high-dose liposomal amphotericin B; intravenous isavuconazole and intravenous or delayed-release tablet posaconazole are alternatives and are also options for salvage therapy. Combination therapy has not proven to be more effective than monotherapy.SummaryOptimal management of mucormycosis depends on early recognition of the disease patterns and on confirmation with culture when possible. Biomarkers of fungal for diagnosis and management are not specific enough and more research in this area might permit pre-emptive therapy when applied to high-risk recipients. Effective therapy is generally a combination of surgery with an antifungal agent.
Source: Current Fungal Infection Reports - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research