Clinical Spectrum, Diagnosis and Outcome of Rare Fungal Infections in Patients with Hematological Malignancies: Experience of 15-Year Period from a Single Tertiary Medical Center

Background Patients with hematological malignancies and allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplant recipients carry a high risk of rare (non- Aspergillus molds and non- Candida yeasts) invasive fungal infections (IFI). Methods We retrospectively evaluated and described the patient profile, clinical manifestations, isolated species, treatment and outcome of patients with hematological malignancies diagnosed with these rare IFIs during 15 years in a large single hemato-oncology center. Results Eighty-seven patients with hematological malignancies treated in our center had at least one positive culture or molecular identification of a rare fungus. Ninety-three isolates were considered the etiological agents of the infection. The most common underlying hematological malignancy was acute myeloid leukemia, 36 patients (41.4%). Eighty patients (91%) received chemotherapy less than 30 days prior to IFI diagnosis. The most frequent site of infection was the respiratory tract: 34 patients (39%) had pulmonary and 19 patients (22%) had a sinusal or nasopharyngeal infections. Disseminated infection, defined as positive blood cultures or parallel infection in multiple organ systems, was documented in 20 patients (23%). The most common fungal species were Fusarium (35%) and Zygomycetes (25%). Coinfection with more than one fungus was noted in 20 patients (23%). Forty-seven of 87 patients (54%) in this study died within 90 days of IFI diagnosis. Conclusions Rare IFIs in patients with hematological malignancy become increasingly frequent. Early identification with traditional and molecular methods is important in management of these patients.