{"title":"Maximizing Yield and Speed of Fungal Pathogen Identification with Molecular Testing Performed Directly on Patient Specimens","authors":"J. Lieberman, L. Bourassa","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00471-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12281-023-00471-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":"17 1","pages":"214 - 225"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43312697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Epidemiology and Prevalence of Azole-Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus: What Is Our Understanding of the Situation?","authors":"N. Wiederhold","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00469-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12281-023-00469-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":"17 1","pages":"177 - 187"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47453018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Antifungal Stewardship Interventions in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies","authors":"P. Vergidis, Ryan W. Stevens, S. Agrawal","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00465-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12281-023-00465-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":"17 1","pages":"108 - 118"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"52680205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Novel Approaches in the Management of Mucormycosis.","authors":"Frederic Lamoth","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00463-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12281-023-00463-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>Invasive mucormycosis (IM), caused by fungi of the order Mucorales, is one of the deadliest fungal infection among hematologic cancer patients. Its incidence is also increasingly reported in immunocompetent individuals, notably with the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches of IM. This review discusses the current advances in this field.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>Early diagnosis of IM is crucial and can be improved by Mucorales-specific PCR and development of lateral-flow immunoassays for specific antigen detection. The spore coat proteins (CotH) are essential for virulence of the Mucorales and may represent a target for novel antifungal therapies. Adjuvant therapies boosting the immune response, such as interferon-γ, anti-PDR1 or fungal-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells, are also considered.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>The most promising perspectives for improved management of IM consist of a multilayered approach targeting both the pathogen and the host immune system.</p>","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10165581/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10664104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rimjhim Kanaujia, Shreya Singh, Shivaprakash M Rudramurthy
{"title":"Aspergillosis: an Update on Clinical Spectrum, Diagnostic Schemes, and Management.","authors":"Rimjhim Kanaujia, Shreya Singh, Shivaprakash M Rudramurthy","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00461-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12281-023-00461-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>This review gives an overview of the diseases caused by <i>Aspergillus</i>, including a description of the species involved and the infected clinical systems. We provide insight into the various diagnostic methods available for diagnosing aspergillosis, particularly invasive aspergillosis (IA), including the role of radiology, bronchoscopy, culture, and non-culture-based microbiological methods. We also discuss the available diagnostic algorithms for the different disease conditions. This review also summarizes the main aspects of managing infections due to <i>Aspergillus</i> spp., such as antifungal resistance, choice of antifungals, therapeutic drug monitoring, and new antifungal alternatives.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>The risk factors for this infection continue to evolve with the development of many biological agents that target the immune system and the increase of viral illnesses such as coronavirus disease. Due to the limitations of present mycological test methods, establishing a fast diagnosis is frequently difficult, and reports of developing antifungal resistance further complicate the management of aspergillosis. Many commercial assays, like AsperGenius®, MycAssay Aspergillus®, and MycoGENIE®, have the advantage of better species-level identification and concomitant resistance-associated mutations. Fosmanogepix, ibrexafungerp, rezafungin, and olorofim are newer antifungal agents in the pipeline exhibiting remarkable activity against <i>Aspergillus</i> spp.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>The fungus <i>Aspergillus</i> is found ubiquitously around the world and can cause various infections, from harmless saprophytic colonization to severe IA. Understanding the diagnostic criteria to be used in different patient groups and the local epidemiological data and antifungal susceptibility profile is critical for optimal patient management.</p>","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10157594/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9715743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Epidemiology of COVID-19-Associated Mucormycosis.","authors":"Khadija Tayabali, Hussein Pothiwalla, Shivakumar Narayanan","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00464-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12281-023-00464-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of the review: </strong>To describe the epidemiology and risk factors for Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19)-associated mucormycosis (CAM) based on current published literature.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of secondary infections. Mucormycosis is an uncommon invasive fungal infection that typically affects people with immunocompromising conditions and uncontrolled diabetes. Treatment of mucormycosis is challenging and is associated with high mortality even with standard care. During the second wave of the COVID 19 pandemic, an abnormally high number of CAM cases were seen particularly in India. Several case series have attempted to describe the risk factors for CAM.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>A common risk profile identified for CAM includes uncontrolled diabetes and treatment with steroids. COVID-19-induced immune dysregulation as well as some unique pandemic specific risk factors may have played a role.</p>","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":" ","pages":"1-20"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10155162/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9713498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diagnostic Efficacy of LAMP Assay for Human Fungal Pathogens: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.","authors":"Gurvinder Singh Bumbrah, Sarika Jain, Shweta Singh, Zeeshan Fatima, Saif Hameed","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00466-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12281-023-00466-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Human fungal infections particularly caused by <i>Candida</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i> have emerged as major public health burden. Long turnaround time and poor sensitivity of the conventional diagnostics are the major impediments for faster diagnosis of human fungal pathogens.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>To overcome these issues, molecular-based diagnostics have been developed. They offer enhanced sensitivity but require sophisticated infrastructure, skilled manpower, and remained expensive. In that context, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay represents a promising alternative that facilitates visual read outs. However, to eradicate fungal infections, all forms of fungi must be accurately detected. Thus, a need for alternative testing methodologies is imperative that should be rapid, accurate and facilitate widespread adoption. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the diagnostic efficiency of LAMP in the detection of a panel of human fungal pathogens following PRISMA guidelines using scientific databases viz. PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, BioRxiv, and MedRxiv.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>From various studies reported on the diagnosis of fungi, only 9 articles were identified as eligible to meet the criteria of LAMP based diagnosis. Through this meta-analysis, it was found that most of the studies were conducted in China and Japan with sputum and blood as the most common specimens to be used for LAMP assay. The collected data underlined that ITS gene and fluorescence-based detections ranked as the most used target and method. The pooled sensitivity values of meta-analysis ranged between 0.71 and 1.0 and forest plot and SROC (summary receiver operating characteristic) curve revealed a pooled specificity values between 0.13 and 1.0 with the confidence interval of 95%, respectively. The accuracy and precision rates of eligible studies mostly varied between 70 to 100% and 68 to 100%, respectively. A quality assessment based on QUADAS-2 (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies) of bias and applicability was conducted which depicted low risk of bias and applicability concerns. Together, LAMP technology could be considered as a feasible alternative to current diagnostics considering high fungal burden for rapid testing in low resource regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10150145/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9706607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Developments in Fungal Serology.","authors":"P Lewis White","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00462-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12281-023-00462-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>The true incidence of fungal disease is hampered by conventionally poor diagnostic tests, limited access to advanced diagnostics, and limited surveillance. The availability of serological testing has been available for over two decades and generally underpins the modern diagnosis of the most common forms of fungal disease. This review will focus on technical developments of serological tests for the diagnosis of fungal disease, describing advances in clinical performance when available.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>Despite their longevity, technical, clinical, and performance limitations remain, and tests specific for fungal pathogens outside the main pathogens are lacking. The availability of LFA and automated systems, capable of running multiple different tests, represents significant developments, but clinical performance data is variable and limited.</p><p><strong>Summary: </strong>Fungal serology has significantly advanced the diagnosis of the main fungal infections, with LFA availability increasing accessibility to testing. Combination testing has the potential to overcome performance limitations.</p>","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10099008/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10073755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Mayorga-Rodríguez, S. E. Reyes-Meza, Adriana del Carmen Rodríguez-Mena, D. G. Villanueva-Quintero, A. Pérez-Romero, Katia Alejandra Wheber Hidalgo
{"title":"Prevalence of Onychomycosis in Patients with Psoriasis","authors":"J. Mayorga-Rodríguez, S. E. Reyes-Meza, Adriana del Carmen Rodríguez-Mena, D. G. Villanueva-Quintero, A. Pérez-Romero, Katia Alejandra Wheber Hidalgo","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00457-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12281-023-00457-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":"17 1","pages":"119 - 123"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43558110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Management of HIV-Associated Cryptococcal Meningitis","authors":"Matt Osborn, A. Spec, Patrick B. Mazi","doi":"10.1007/s12281-023-00458-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12281-023-00458-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10813,"journal":{"name":"Current Fungal Infection Reports","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43312784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}