title: Filamentous fungi infection in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome. A report of twelve cases.
abstract: In this report we analyse the risk factors, the clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who developed an Invasive Fungi Infection (IFI). This was a multicentric study involving 14 Italian Haematological Divisions during a 10-year period whose object was to identify the characteristics of patients with this infection. The study recorded 391 consecutive documented IFI, 12 of which (3%) occurred in MDS patients, from 5 of the participating centres. The primary localization of infection was lung in 10 cases and skin and paranasal sinus in 1 case each. Ten patients died at the end of follow up. The death was mainly attributable to IFI progression in nine of them. The factors that appeared related to an unfavourable outcome were intensive chemotherapy within 30 days before IFI diagnosis, presence of multiple localization at chest X-ray in patients with isolated pulmonary IFI and multiple sites of infection.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Semeiotica Medica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy. lpagano@rm.unicatt.it
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nosari
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tonso
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fianchi
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cudillo
authors.forename: Livio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pagano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009181:Mycoses / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000666:Amphotericin B