Source: Annual Congress 2001 - Immune deficiencies and the lung in childhood
Disease area: Respiratory infections

Abstract

Pulmonary fungal infection is a serious complication among cancer patients who receive chemotherapy. In order to identify the type of causative fungi and to evaluate the frequency and outcome of pulmonary fungal infection among paediatric cancer patients, this study was conducted during a complete year (1999) in National Cancer Institute in Egypt. Out of 1917 suspected infectious episodes, fungal infections were clinically and microbiologically documented in 70 patients.
Forty patients with acute leukemia, 15 lymphoma patients and 15 patients with solid tumors were evaluated for the extent of the disease, the duration of hospitalization, neutropenia and the current or previous chemotherapy. Bronchial lavage samples were obtained by transtracheal aspiration or bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage. Candida strains were identified utilizing Chromagar media and Fungifast Twin kits (Stago Group, France).
Among 70 patients evaluated in this study pulmonary fungal infection was microbiologically diagnosed in 25 patients. Meanwhile, peripheral vein blood culture was positive for fungal infection in 18 patients. The most frequently reported candida species were C. parapsilosis (14 cases) and C. tropicalis (13 cases). Cryptococcus neoformans was isolated from 7 cases and Aspergillus species in 13. Yet, fungemia and pulmonary fungal infection are associated with high mortality rate.

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Citations should be made in the following way:
H. A. El-Mahallawy, I. A. Attia, S. Abo-El-Naga, N. Hassan, A. E. Salem (Cairo, Egypt). Pulmonary fungal infection in paediatric cancer patients. Eur Respir J 2001; 16: Suppl. 31, 3432

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