ஐ.எஸ்.எஸ்.என்: 2161-0517
Shahindokht Bassiri-Jahromi
Back ground: Invasive aspergillosis is a well-known complication in immunocompromised patients. Among fungal infections, Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis (IPA) is the first cause of death after transplantation, and remains a major complication in curses of leukemia treatment. Despite considerable progress in the management of infections, it remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality, mainly after transplantation. This study was conducted in order to determine the risk factors for Aspergillus infections.
Patients and methods: During retrospective investigation of 24 patients with aspergillosis, significant risk
factors for invasive aspergillosis have been identified. Diagnosis was confirmed by demonstration of fungi by direct examination of the clinical samples, histopathology and cultures.
Results: All patients were immunocompromised or had one or more predisposing factors. Patients with solid organ transplantation, renal transplant recipients and patients with hematologic malignancy or chronic granulomatous disease were at the highest risk for Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis (IPA). Fever unresponsive to broad-spectrum antibiotics was the earliest and most common clinical sign in this study.
Conclusion: The major advances in the management of invasive fungal infections (IFI) have come from the
noticing of the risk factors for the development of IFI, from the development of new biological markers of IFI, and also from well-designed therapeutic trails. However, much remains to be done to decrease the rate of mortality due to IFI in high risk patients. A high degree of knowledge and efforts for an early diagnosis may interfere to improve the poor prognosis.