Treatment and outcomes of invasive fusariosis: review of 65 cases from the PATH Alliance ® registry

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109347/1/myc12212.pd

Infections in hematopoietic cell transplant recipients: Results from the Organ Transplant Infection Project, a multicenter, prospective, cohort study

Background. Infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Our object was to better define the epidemiology and outcomes of infections after HCT. Methods. This was a prospective, multicenter cohort study of HCT recipients and conducted from 2006 to 2011. The study included 4 US transplant centers and 444 HCT recipients. Data were prospectively collected for up to 30 months after HCT using a standardized data collection tool. Results. The median age was 53 years, and median follow up was 413 (range, 5-980) days. The most common reason for HCT was hematologic malignancy (87%). The overall crude mortality was 52%. Death was due to underlying disease in 44% cases and infection in 21%. Bacteremia occurred in 231 (52%) cases and occurred early posttransplant (median day 48). Gram-negative bloodstream infections were less frequent than Gram-positive, but it was associated with higher mortality (45% vs 13%, P = .02). Clostridium difficile infection developed in 148 patients (33%) at a median of 27 days post-HCT. There were 53 invasive fungal infections (IFIs) among 48 patients (11%). The median time to IFI was 142 days. Of 155 patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, 4% had CMV organ involvement. Varicella zoster infection (VZV) occurred in 13 (4%) cases and was disseminated in 2. Infection with respiratory viruses was seen in 49 patients. Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia was rare (1%), and there were no documented cases of nocardiosis, toxoplasmosis, endemic mycoses, or mycobacterial infection. This study lacked standardized antifungal and antiviral prophylactic strategies. Conclusions. Infection remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after HCT. Bacteremias and C difficile infection are frequent, particularly in the early posttransplant period. The rate of IFI is approximately 10%. Organ involvement with CMV is infrequent, as are serious infections with VZV and herpes simplex virus, likely reflecting improved prevention strategies

Successful Treatment of Aspergillus Prosthetic Valve Endocarditis with Oral Voriconazole

Aspergillus endocarditis is very difficult to cure, even with aggressive surgical debridement and antifungal therapy. Patients with embolic involvement of the central nervous system have an extremely poor prognosis. We describe a patient with prosthetic valve endocarditis due to Aspergillus fumigatus who developed emboli in the brain, eye, and lower extremities. With aggressive surgical debridement of involved sites, aortic valve and root replacement, and long-term therapy with oral voriconazole, he remains without any evidence of infection 2 years later

Cytomegalovirus Infections in Lung and Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients in the Organ Transplant Infection Prevention and Detection (OTIP) Study: a Multi-Year, Multi-Center Prospective Cohort Study

Most studies of post-transplant CMV infection have focused on either solid organ or hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients. A large prospective cohort study involving both lung and HCT recipients provided an opportunity to compare the epidemiology and outcomes of CMV infections in these two groups.Patients were followed for 30 months in a 6-center prospective cohort study. Data on demographics, CMV infections, tissue-invasive disease, recurrences, rejection, and immunosuppression were recorded.The overall incidence of CMV infection was 83/293 (28.3%) in the lung transplant group and 154/444 (34.7%) in the HCT group (p = 0.0706). Tissue-invasive CMV disease occurred in 8/83 (9.6%) of lung and 6/154 (3.9%) of HCT recipients with CMV infection, respectively (p=0.087). Median time to CMV infection was longer in the lung transplant group (236 vs. 40 days, p < 0.0001), likely reflecting the effects of prophylaxis vs. pre-emptive therapy. Total IgG levels of < 350 mg/dl in lung recipients and graft versus host disease (GvHD) in HCT recipients were associated with increased CMV risk. HCT recipients had a higher mean number of CMV episodes (p=0.008), although duration of viremia was not significantly different between the two groups. CMV infection was not associated with reduced overall survival in either group.Current CMV prevention strategies have resulted in a low incidence of tissue-invasive disease in both lung transplant and HCT, although CMV viremia is still relatively common. Differences between the lung and HCT groups in terms of time to CMV and recurrences of CMV viremia likely reflect differences in underlying host immunobiology and in CMV prevention strategies in the modern era. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Modeling Invasive Aspergillosis Risk for the Application of Prophylaxis Strategies.

The epidemiology of invasive aspergillosis (IA) is evolving. To define the patient groups who will most likely benefit from primary or secondary Aspergillus prophylaxis, particularly those whose medical conditions and IA risk change over time, it is helpful to depict patient populations and their risk periods in a temporal visual model. The Sankey approach provides a dynamic figure to understand the risk of IA for various patient populations. While the figure depicted within this article is static, an internet-based version could provide pop-up highlights of any given flows origin and destination nodes. A future version could highlight links to publications that support the color-coded incidence rates or other actionable items, such as bundles of applicable pharmacologic or non-pharmacologic interventions. The figure, as part of the upcoming Infectious Diseases Society of Americas aspergillosis clinical practice guidelines, can guide decision-making in clinical settings