The spectrum of Fusarium infection in immunocompromised patients with haematological malignancies and in non‐immunocompromised patients: a single institution experience over 10 years

Abstract

Summary. Fusarium is a newly emerging fungal pathogen associated with signi®cant morbidity and mortality in the immunocompromised host. We have reviewed our hospital's experience with Fusarium between 1985 and 1995. Fusarium species were isolated from 22 specimens, representing 11 patients. Cases were not clustered by time period. The median age of the patients was 36´5 years (range 17±69 years). The sources of the organism were 12 skin lesions from eight patients, seven blood cultures from two patients and one specimen each from a Hickman catheter tip, nail clippings and a bronchoalveolar lavage. Seven of the patients had chemotherapy-induced neutropenia when the Fusarium was isolated. Five of them developed invasive fusarosis during acute leukaemia induction treatment. They remained neutropenic, and none survived. The other two patients recovered from neutropenia and were treated successfully for this infection. The remaining four patients were not neutropenic or immunocompromised. Three grew Fusarium from skin or nail clippings and one from bronchial alveolar lavage (BAL). There was no evidence of invasive disease in any of the four. None of them received antifungal therapy, and they were all alive at last follow-up. We conclude that Fusarium is a newly emerging infection in neutropenic patients. A high index of suspicion, especially for skin lesions, will help in early diagnosis before systemic and visceral dissemination. Excision of the initial focus of infection and antifungal therapy, aided by speedy neutrophil recovery, are likely to protect patients threatened with these fatal infections. Fusarium isolated from non-neutropenic, nonimmunosuppressed patients is not signi®cant and does not merit systemic antifungal treatment.

Prevalence of Moulds in Households Drinking Water of Some Local Government Areas of Kano, Nigeria

“…In recent years, deep-seated and disseminated infections have been increasingly described in immune compromised patients, especially in neutronpenic patients (Guarro and Gene, 1995). The prognosis is very poor and death occurs in up to 70% of cases despite antifungal therapy (Musa et al, 2000).…”

Toxic thermoresistant metabolites of Fusarium oxysporum are capable of inducing histopathological alterations in Wistar rats

“…Species of Fusarium are responsible for serious contagious infections with high mortality rates, usually involving immunocompromised patients (1)(2)(3). The tegumentary lesions caused by Fusarium tend to manifest as erythematous and nodular papules with central necrosis (4).…”

Variation of Bacterial and Fungal Community Structures in PM2.5 Collected during the 2014 APEC Summit Periods

“…Other pathogenic genera included Alternaria (0.097%), Arthrinium (0.004%), Dactylaria (0.003%), Fusarium (0.186%), Stachybotrys (0.035%), Trichoderma (0.063%), and Trichothecium (0.087%). At the species level, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium poae, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus ochraceus were identified through sequence comparison in the NCBI at more than 97% similarity, and they were responsible for some plant and human diseases (Musa et al, 2000;Hedayati et al, 2007;Michielse and Martijn, 2009). The total abundance of pathogenic bacteria in the AD and AN sample groups collected during the summit were 0.524% and 0.616%, and pathogenic fungi were 1.406% and 1.143%, respectively.…”