Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is increasingly recognized as a life-threatening superinfection of severe respiratory viral infections, such as influenza. The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to emerging SARS-CoV-2 rose concern about the eventuality of IPA complicating COVID-19 in intensive care unit patients. A variable incidence of such complication has been reported, which can be partly attributed to differences in diagnostic strategy and IPA definitions, and possibly local environmental/epidemiological factors. In this article, we discuss the similarities and differences between influenza-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (IAPA) and COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA). Compared to IAPA, the majority of CAPA cases have been classified as putative rather than proven/probable IPA. Distinct physiopathology of influenza and COVID-19 may explain these discrepancies. Whether CAPA represents a distinct entity is still debatable and many questions remain unanswered, such as its actual incidence, the predisposing role of corticosteroids or immunomodulatory drugs, and the indications for antifungal therapy.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab163 | DOI Listing |
Mycopathologia
January 2025
Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Introduction: Invasive fungal disease (IFD) is a morbid superinfection that can arise in critically ill patients with COVID-19 infection. Studies evaluating the full spectrum of COVID-19-associated fungal infections remain limited.
Methods: Single-center retrospective study assessing IFD in patients with COVID-19, hospitalized for ≥ 72 h in the intensive care unit (ICU) between 02/25/20 and 02/28/22 (n = 1410).
J Clin Microbiol
January 2025
Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
An accurate diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with underlying hematological malignancies relies heavily on galactomannan detection. In this study, we compared the VirCLIA chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) with the frequently used Platelia enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on serum from hematology patients with suspected IA. Patients were categorized according to EORTC/MSGERC 2020 definitions into proven/probable IA and possible/no IA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe review the case of a 58-year-old female on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support diagnosed with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). Intravenous isavuconazole was started, requiring dose escalation to achieve isavuconazole trough concentration (ISA-Cmin) within the therapeutic range (2.5-5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Infect Dis
January 2025
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, 442000, Hubei, P.R. China.
Background And Objective: Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) is a promising tool for distinguishing lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in clinical practice, and its detectable pathogen spectrum can cover more than 95% of clinical cases. but there is limited information on systematic evaluation of the clinical use of multiplex PCR-based tNGS (mp-tNGS) in IPA cases. We aim to assess mp-tNGS in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for Aspergillus detection in suspected IPA patients, and to provide a reliable basis for initiating antifungal therapy without microbiological or histopathological evidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVirulence
December 2025
Manchester Fungal Infection Group (MFIG), Division of Evolution, Infection, and Genomics, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Sulfur metabolism is an essential aspect of fungal physiology and pathogenicity. Fungal sulfur metabolism comprises anabolic and catabolic routes that are not well conserved in mammals, therefore is considered a promising source of prospective novel antifungal targets. To gain insight into sulfur-related metabolism during infection, we used a NanoString custom nCounter-TagSet and compared the expression of 68 key metabolic genes in different murine models of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, at 3 time-points, and under a variety of conditions.
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