title: Invasive Fusariosis in the Voriconazole Era: Single-Center 13-Year Experience.
abstract: Background.  Invasive fusariosis remains an aggressive, albeit infrequent infection in immunocompromised patients. Methods.  We identified all cases of invasive fusariosis between January 2002 and December 2014. We recorded patient characteristics including clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes at 6 and 12 weeks after diagnosis, as well as species identification and antifungal drug susceptibilities. Results.  Fifteen patients were diagnosed with proven (12, 80%) or probable (3, 20%) fusariosis. Median age was 60 years (range, 26-78), and 10 patients were male. Underlying conditions included hematological malignancies (13, 87%), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (1, 7%), and third-degree burns (1, 7%). Five patients underwent hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation before diagnosis. Six patients (40%) received systemic glucocorticoids, and 11 patients (73%) had prolonged neutropenia at the time of diagnosis. Clinical presentations included the following: skin/soft tissue infection (8, 53%), febrile neutropenia (4, 27%), respiratory tract infection (2, 13%), and septic arthritis (1, 7%). Twelve patients were treated with voriconazole: 6 (40%) with voriconazole alone, 4 (27%) with voriconazole and terbinafine, and 2 (13%) with voriconazole, terbinafine, and amphotericin. One patient (7%) was treated with terbinafine alone, and another with micafungin alone. Four patients underwent surgical debridement (4, 27%). Susceptibility testing was performed on 9 isolates; 8 demonstrated voriconazole minimum inhibitory concentrations ≥4 µg/mL. The cumulative probability of survival was 66.7% and 53.3% at 6 and 12 weeks after diagnosis. Conclusions.  Mortality associated with invasive fusariosis remains high. Cumulative mortality at our center was lower than previous reports despite elevated voriconazole minimum inhibitory concentrations. Combination therapy should be studied systematically for fusariosis.
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital ; Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Jessica M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Stempel
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital ; Harvard Medical School ; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Sarah P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.affiliation: Fungus Testing Laboratory , University of Texas Health Science Center , San Antonio, Texas.
authors.forename: Deanna A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sutton
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital.
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Weiser
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital ; Harvard Medical School ; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Francisco M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Marty
keywords: fungal disease; fusarium; invasive fusariosis; terbinafine; voriconazole