Abstract
Mycoses are diseases caused by fungi that involve different parts of the body and can generate dangerous treatment complications. This study aims to analyze fungal infection epidemiology in intensive care units (Pediatric and Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Units—PCICU) and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in one large pediatric center in the period 2015–2020 compared with 2005. The year 2005 was randomly selected as a historical time reference to notice possible changes. In 2005 and 2015–2020, 23,334 mycological tests were performed in intensive care units. A total of 4628 tests (19.8%) were performed in the intensive care units. Microbiological diagnostics involved mycological and serological testing. Of the 458 children hospitalized in the NICU, positive results in the mycological tests in the studied years were found in 21–27% of the children and out of 1056 PCICU patients, positive results were noticed in 18–29%. In both departments, the main detected pathogen was Candida albicans which is comparable with data published in other centers. Our experience indicates that blood cultures as well as the detection of antifungal antibodies do not add important information to mycological diagnostics. For the years of observation, only a few positive results were detected, even in patients with invasive fungal diseases. To our knowledge, this is one of a few similar studies over recent years and it provides contemporary reports of mycoses in pediatric ICU patients.
Highlights
Mycoses or fungal diseases can be divided into superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic.Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is a severe, systemic, life-threatening disease caused by fungi [1]
The aim of the study was to analyze the epidemiology of fungal infections in the intensive care units (Pediatric and Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Units—PCICU) and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Children’s University Hospital (UCH) in Krakow in the period 2015–2020
The main detected pathogen was Candida albicans which is comparable with data published in other centers [6,7,8,9]
Summary
Mycoses or fungal diseases can be divided into superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic. Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is a severe, systemic, life-threatening disease caused by fungi [1]. IFIs are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised children and neonates [2]. Even the common fungal infection could be dangerous for a severely ill child as it leads to an inflammatory reaction, an additional therapy risk, or a delay in treatment. The majority of our knowledge comes from adult population or pediatric cancer patient single center studies [3,4]. Nonspecific symptoms, diagnostic challenges, and the occasional usage of anti-fungal prophylaxis could be the reasons why many cases of fungal infections remain undiagnosed. According to the revised criteria of the EORTC/MSG
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