Search

Background: Characteristics and outcome of invasive fungal infection (IFI) in critically ill burn patients have been poorly explored., Objectives: We report the factors associated with 90-day mortality in a multicentre retrospective European study., Patients/methods: All burn patients with confirmed IFI admitted between 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2015 in 10 centres in France and Belgium were included., Results: Ninety-four patients were enrolled with 110 cases of IFIs: 79 (71.8%) were yeasts IFI and 31 (28.2%) filamentous IFI. Incidence was 1% among admitted patients. The 90-day mortality was 37.2% for all IFIs combined, 52% for filamentous infection and 31.9% for yeast infection. Patients with more than one IFI had a higher 90-day mortality than patients with only one episode (61.5% vs 33.5% (P = .006)). In multivariate analysis, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (OR = 1.05 (95% CI: 1.02-1.09) P = .003), bacterial co-infection (OR = 3.85 (95% CI: 1.23-12.01), P = .014) and use of skin allografts at the time of IFI diagnosis (OR = 3.87 (95% CI: 1.31-11.42), P = .021) were associated with 90-day mortality., Conclusions: Although rare, invasive fungal infections remain associated with poor outcome in burn patients. Bacterial co-infection and presence of allograft were potentially modifiable factors independently associated with outcome., (© 2020 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

A mass spectrometry (MS) method that detects a serum disaccharide (DS) (MS-DS) was recently described for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections (IFI). We carried out a European collaborative study to evaluate this assay. Patients with the following IFI were selected according to the availability of sera obtained at about the time that IFI was documented: invasive candidiasis (IC; n  = 26 patients), invasive aspergillosis (IA; n  = 19), and mucormycosis (MM; n  = 23). Control sera originated from 20 neutropenic patients and 20 patients with bacteremia. MS-DS was carried out in blind manner for the diagnosis of IFI. A diagnosis of IC or IA was confirmed by detection of mannan (Man) or galactomannan (GM), respectively, associated with detection of (1,3)-β-d-glucan (BDG) in both infections. MM was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). All tests discriminated sera from patients with IC from sera from control subjects with bacteremia ( P  ≤ 0.0009). For IC, the MS-DS sensitivity and specificity were 51% and 87%, respectively. MS-DS complemented the high specificity of Man monitoring. All tests discriminated sera from IA patients from sera from neutropenic controls ( P  ≤ 0.0009). For IA, MS-DS sensitivity and specificity were 64% and 95%, respectively. Only 13/36 serum samples from patients with MM were concordant by MS-DS and qPCR (6 were positive, and 7 were negative); 14 were positive by MS-DS alone. qPCR and MS-DS made a similar contribution to the diagnosis of MM. In patients undergoing long-term monitoring, the persistent circulation of serum disaccharide was observed, whereas DNA was detected only for a short period after initiation of treatment. MS-DS has an important role to play in the early diagnosis of IFI. Its panfungal nature and complementarity with other tests may justify its use in the management of IFI., (Copyright © 2019 Cornu et al.)

Invasive mycoses present a global challenge with expansion into new hosts, emergence of new pathogens, and development of multidrug resistance. In parallel, new antifungal agents and advanced laboratory diagnostic systems are being developed. In response to these evolving challenges, the European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) is committed to providing international expertise, guidance, and leadership with the key objectives of improving diagnosis, treatment, outcome, and survival of persons with invasive fungal diseases. Representing 25 affiliated National Medical Mycology Societies, the ECMM has developed several major ways to achieving these critical objectives: (a) tasking specific medical mycology working groups; (b) founding the ECMM Academy and Fellow program (FECMM); (c) expanding the goals of ECMM beyond the European region; (d) implementing the ECMM Excellence Centre Initiative in Europe; and (e) the ECMM Global Guidelines and Neglected Orphan Disease Guidance Initiatives focusing on mucormycosis, rare mould diseases, rare yeast diseases, and endemic mycoses. We believe that these important initiatives and other strategies of the ECMM will advance the field of medical mycology and improve the outcome of patients with invasive mycoses worldwide., (© 2018 The Authors. Mycoses Published by Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

Pneumocystis jirovecii is an airborne human-specific ascomycetous fungus responsible for Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised patients, affecting >500,000 patients per year (www.gaffi.org). The understanding of its epidemiology is limited by the lack of standardised culture. Recent genotyping data suggests a limited genetic diversity of P. jirovecii. The objective of the study was to assess the diversity of P. jirovecii across European hospitals and analyse P. jirovecii diversity in respect to clinical data obtained from the patients. Genotyping was performed using six already validated short tandem repeat (STR) markers on 249 samples (median: 17 per centre interquartile range [11-20]) from PCP patients of 16 European centres. Mixtures of STR markers (i.e., ≥2 alleles for ≥1 locus) were detected in 67.6% (interquartile range [61.4; 76.5]) of the samples. Mixture was significantly associated with the underlying disease of the patient, with an increased proportion in HIV patients (78.3%) and a decreased proportion in renal transplant recipients (33.3%) (p<0.001). The distribution of the alleles was significantly different (p<0.001) according to the centres in three out of six markers. In analysable samples, 201 combinations were observed corresponding to 137 genotypes: 116 genotypes were country-specific; 12 in two; six in three; and two in four and one in five countries. Nine genotypes were recorded more than once in a given country. Genotype 123 (Gt123) was significantly associated with France (14/15, p<0.001) and Gt16 with Belgium (5/5, p<0.001). More specifically, Gt123 was observed mainly in France (14/15/16 patients) and in renal transplant patient (13/15). Our study showed the wide population diversity across Europe, with evidence of local clusters of patients harbouring a given genotype. These data suggest a specific association between genotype and underlying disease, with evidence of a different natural history of PCP in HIV patients and renal transplant recipients., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)