Scedosporium and Lomentospora infections in lung transplant recipients

Abstract

Infections caused by uncommon or rare mould pathogens often complicate the management of lung transplant (Tx) recipients contributing to high mortality. This review explores the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of Scedosporium and Lomentospora (S/L) infections in lung Tx recipients as well as highlighting constraints in the current management and areas for future research. The number of reported S/L infections remains low among lung Tx recipients whilst the diagnosis and treatment of S/L infections remains challenging. The very few studies which evaluated clinical characteristics, prognostic factors and treatment outcomes of lung Tx patients with lomentosporiosis and/or scedosporiosis were limited by single-centre and observational study design. The requirement to standardise surveillance and culture procedure for S/L infections in lung Tx remains. Better diagnostic tools and antifungal agents are needed to manage S/L infection in this patient cohort. Prospective clinical registries or online databases for lung Tx recipients with these rare mould infections are essential to refine disease management and to improve clinical outcomes in the future.