Implications for the diagnosis of aspiration and aspergillosis in critically ill patients with detection of galactomannan in broncho-alveolar lavage fluids.

Invasive infections with Aspergillus fumigatus in ICU patients are linked to high morbidity and mortality. Diagnosing invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in non-immunosuppressed patients is difficult, as Aspergillus antigen (galactomannan [GM]) may have other causes. This retrospective study analyzed 160 ICU surgical patients with positive GM in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF), classifying them based on AspICU criteria for suspected IPA (pIPA) or aspiration.

Impact of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Critically Ill Surgical Patients with or without Solid Organ Transplantation.

Background: Critically ill patients, especially those who have undergone solid organ transplantation (SOT), are at risk of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). The outcome relevance of adequately treated putative IPA (pIPA) is a matter of debate. The aim of this study is to assess the outcome relevance of pIPA in a cohort of critically ill patients with and without SOT.