Candida bloodstream infection in the USA

January 06 2020

A recent CDC Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report estimated the incidence of candidaemia in the US at around 9/100,000 which equates to >28,000 cases annually, with an overall mortality of 25%. 10% of cases are in IV drug abusers, 33% in diabetics and 17% in cancer patients.
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Beta-D-glucan useful for diagnosing paracoccidioidomycosis

January 02 2020

Results of antibody testing for paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) are variable between laboratories, so a group in São Paulo evaluated the Fungitell beta-D-glucan assay. Sensitivity was 97%, and titres were high for patients with either the acute or chronic form of the disease. However, it cannot distinguish between PCM and several other fungal infections.
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Less than $1000 to save a life from cryptococcal meningitis with flucytosine

December 20 2019

Data from the ACTA trial suggests that 14 days of dual therapy (fluconazole+flucytosine) reduces mortality from 54% to 35% in the first 10 weeks. The cost of treating all patients worldwide would be around $40,604,200 per year - equivalent to only $973 per life saved.
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Update of the EORTC Consensus Definitions of Invasive Fungal Disease

December 09 2019

The EORTC consensus definitions of invasive fungal infections have now been updated to include new patient groups (e.g. children and those taking ibrutinib) and diseases (e.g. Pneumocystis, endemic mycoses), and to reflect recent progress in diagnostics including Aspergillus/Candida PCR and galactomannan
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Diagnosis of tinea capitis in adults is challenging

December 09 2019

Tinea capitis is uncommon in adults, and often initially misdiagnosed as bacterial folliculitis, allergic contact dermatitis, psoriasis or eczema
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