A Review of Case Reports of Rare Clinical Yeast Infections in the Last Five Years.

Abstract

The incidence of fungal infections has increased significantly in recent years. In addition to infections caused by common clinical fungal pathogens such as Candida spp., Aspergillus spp. and Trichoderma spp., infections with rare opportunistic fungal pathogens are increasing annually. Infections by rare yeasts are particularly intractable due to difficulties in identification, the absence of clinical breakpoints, and lack of clinical treatment options. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of clinical cases of infection caused by rare yeasts worldwide in the past five years. Specifically, dozens of case reports of infections caused by rare yeasts, including basidiomycetes and ascomycetes, are summarized. Most infections occurred in newborns and older people. These rare yeasts were mostly isolated from the blood, skin, and other common sites of infection, but isolation from the digestive system, urinary system, and other unexpected anatomical sites was also reported. Although traditional antifungal drugs have good therapeutic effects against most of these rare yeast infections, a small proportion of cases were fatal due to unclear pathogen identification or intrinsic resistance.