Abstract
Background
Fungal diseases range from relatively-minor superficial and mucosal infections to severe, life-threatening systemic infections. Delayed diagnosis and treatment can lead to poor ...patient outcomes and high medical costs. The overall burden of fungal diseases in the United States is challenging to quantify, because they are likely substantially underdiagnosed.
Methods
To estimate the total, national, direct medical costs associated with fungal diseases from a healthcare payer perspective, we used insurance claims data from the Truven Health MarketScan 2014 Research Databases, combined with hospital discharge data from the 2014 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample and outpatient visit data from the 2005–2014 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. All costs were adjusted to 2017 dollars.
Results
We estimate that fungal diseases cost more than $7.2 billion in 2017, including $4.5 billion from 75055 hospitalizations and $2.6 billion from 8993230 outpatient visits. Hospitalizations for Candida infections (n = 26735, total cost $1.4 billion) and Aspergillus infections (n = 14820, total cost $1.2 billion) accounted for the highest total hospitalization costs of any disease. Over half of outpatient visits were for dermatophyte infections (4981444 visits, total cost $802 million), and 3639037 visits occurred for non-invasive candidiasis (total cost $1.6 billion).
Conclusions
Fungal diseases impose a considerable economic burden on the healthcare system. Our results likely underestimate their true costs, because they are underdiagnosed. More comprehensive estimates of the public health impact of these diseases are needed to improve their recognition, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
To provide insight into the burden of fungal diseases in the United States, we used several administrative data sources to estimate their total direct healthcare costs. We estimate that fungal disease healthcare costs exceed $7 billion annually.
Background. Although prognosis of Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) has greatly improved, few studies have focused on its long-term outcome. We studied the clinical course and sequelae of CGD ...patients diagnosed before age 16, at various adult time points. Method. Cross-sectional French nationwide retrospective study of patients screened through the National Reference Center for Primary Immunodeficiencies (CEREDIH) registry. Results. Eighty CGD patients (71 males 88.7%, 59 X-linked 73.7%, median age 23.9 years minimum, 16.6; maximum, 59.9) were included, Median ages at diagnosis and last follow-up were 2.52 and 23.9 years, respectively. Seven patients underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. A total of 553 infections requiring hospitalization occurred in 2017 patient-years. The most common site of infection was pulmonary (31%). Aspergillus spp. (17%) and Staphylococcus aureus (10.7%) were the commonest pathogens. A total of 224 inflammatory episodes occurred in 71 patients, mainly digestive (50%). Their characteristics as well as their annual frequency did not vary before and after age 16. Main sequelae were a small adult height and weight and mild chronic restrictive respiratory failure. At age 16, only 53% of patients were in high school. After age 30 years, 9/13 patients were working. Ten patients died during adulthood. Conclusions. Adult CGD patients displayed similar characteristics and rates of severe infections and inflammatory episodes that those of childhood. The high rate of handicap has become a matter of medical and social consideration. Careful follow-up in centers of expertise is strongly recommended and an extended indication of curative treatment by HSCT should be considered.
White-nose syndrome (WNS) has caused recent catastrophic declines among multiple species of bats in eastern North America. The disease's name derives from a visually apparent white growth of the ...newly discovered fungus Geomyces destructans on the skin (including the muzzle) of hibernating bats. Colonization of skin by this fungus is associated with characteristic cutaneous lesions that are the only consistent pathological finding related to WNS. However, the role of G. destructans in WNS remains controversial because evidence to implicate the fungus as the primary cause of this disease is lacking. The debate is fuelled, in part, by the assumption that fungal infections in mammals are most commonly associated with immune system dysfunction. Additionally, the recent discovery that G. destructans commonly colonizes the skin of bats of Europe, where no unusual bat mortality events have been reported, has generated further speculation that the fungus is an opportunistic pathogen and that other unidentified factors are the primary cause of WNS. Here we demonstrate that exposure of healthy little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) to pure cultures of G. destructans causes WNS. Live G. destructans was subsequently cultured from diseased bats, successfully fulfilling established criteria for the determination of G. destructans as a primary pathogen. We also confirmed that WNS can be transmitted from infected bats to healthy bats through direct contact. Our results provide the first direct evidence that G. destructans is the causal agent of WNS and that the recent emergence of WNS in North America may represent translocation of the fungus to a region with a naive population of animals. Demonstration of causality is an instrumental step in elucidating the pathogenesis and epidemiology of WNS and in guiding management actions to preserve bat populations against the novel threat posed by this devastating infectious disease.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary Invasive opportunistic fungal diseases (IFDs) are important causes of morbidity and mortality in paediatric patients with cancer and those who have had an allogeneic haemopoietic stem-cell ...transplantation (HSCT). Apart from differences in underlying disorders and comorbidities relative to those of adults, IFDs in infants, children, and adolescents are unique with respect to their epidemiology, the usefulness of diagnostic methods, the pharmacology and dosing of antifungal agents, and the absence of interventional phase 3 clinical trials for guidance of evidence-based decisions. To better define the state of knowledge on IFDs in paediatric patients with cancer and allogeneic HSCT and to improve IFD diagnosis, prevention, and management, the Fourth European Conference on Infections in Leukaemia (ECIL-4) in 2011 convened a group that reviewed the scientific literature on IFDs and graded the available quality of evidence according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America grading system. The final considerations and recommendations of the group are summarised in this manuscript.
When and how to treat invasive fungal infections (IFIs) is discussed in this review, with a focus on the two most prevalent non-endemic IFIs, namely invasive aspergillosis and invasive candidiasis. ...Early treatment initiation in patients with IFIs has a profound impact on mortality rates, but reliable diagnostic measures are lacking. This situation has led to the parallel use of different treatment strategies, e.g. prophylaxis, empirical and pre-emptive treatment, as well as targeted treatment in response to a definite diagnosis of IFI. Identifying high-risk patients is the first step in reducing IFI-related mortality. Patients at risk of invasive aspergillosis comprise (i) those with acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) during remission induction chemotherapy; (ii) patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); (iii) recipients of solid organ transplants; and (iv) those with other conditions of severe and prolonged immunosuppression. Patients at high risk of invasive candidiasis are less well defined. Risk factors are diverse and include haematological malignancy, neutropenia, age <1 month or >65 years, and recent abdominal surgery. The individual risk further depends on the presence of a variety of other risk factors, including central venous catheters, use of broad spectrum antibacterials, prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay, total parenteral nutrition, mucosal
Candida
spp. colonization and renal failure.
Extensive research has been conducted to facilitate the best possible treatment strategies for these severe infections. Optimal timing and choice of antifungal agents largely remain a matter of controversy. After having reviewed the major clinical trials, we conclude that comparisons between different treatment strategies cannot be made, neither at present nor in the near future. The complexity of the clinical problem leads to an eclectic treatment approach to reduce morbidity and mortality from IFIs without compromising tolerability. We recommend prophylaxis with posaconazole for allogeneic HSCT recipients, patients receiving induction chemotherapy for AML or MDS, and those undergoing immunosuppressive therapy for graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic HSCT. For the empirical treatment of persistently febrile neutropenia, caspofungin is our first-and liposomal amphotericin B deoxycholate (LAmB) our second-line choice. Once a diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis has been established, voriconazole should be the preferred treatment option, with LAmB being an alternative. Fluconazole prophylaxis for invasive candidiasis should remain restricted to high-risk ICU patients. Once a diagnosis has been established, the drug of choice for adequate treatment depends largely on neutrophil count and haemodynamic stability. In non-neutropenic patients, an echinocandin should be considered the first-line treatment option, while patients with susceptible
Candida
spp. may be switched to fluconazole. In neutropenic patients, caspofungin or micafungin might be preferred to anidulafungin as first-line treatment. LAmB is a second-line treatment option in both settings.
Early diagnosis of IFIs is imperative to facilitate treatment success. In all patients at risk for IFIs, blood cultures, galactomannan antigen and diagnostic imaging should be rigorously enforced.
To describe the burden, epidemiology and outcomes of co-infections and superinfections occurring in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
We performed an observational ...cohort study of all consecutive patients admitted for ≥48 hours to the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona for COVID-19 (28 February to 22 April 2020) who were discharged or dead. We describe demographic, epidemiologic, laboratory and microbiologic results, as well as outcome data retrieved from electronic health records.
Of a total of 989 consecutive patients with COVID-19, 72 (7.2%) had 88 other microbiologically confirmed infections: 74 were bacterial, seven fungal and seven viral. Community-acquired co-infection at COVID-19 diagnosis was uncommon (31/989, 3.1%) and mainly caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. A total of 51 hospital-acquired bacterial superinfections, mostly caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, were diagnosed in 43 patients (4.7%), with a mean (SD) time from hospital admission to superinfection diagnosis of 10.6 (6.6) days. Overall mortality was 9.8% (97/989). Patients with community-acquired co-infections and hospital-acquired superinfections had worse outcomes.
Co-infection at COVID-19 diagnosis is uncommon. Few patients developed superinfections during hospitalization. These findings are different compared to those of other viral pandemics. As it relates to hospitalized patients with COVID-19, such findings could prove essential in defining the role of empiric antimicrobial therapy or stewardship strategies.
Highlights • Invasive fungal infections are a major cause of mortality in HIV/AIDS patients globally. • HIV/AIDS has multiple complex effects on antifungal immunity. • The current global response to ...this neglected epidemic needs to be improved. • There is a pressing need for access to better diagnostics and to new and existing drugs.
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