Candida pneumonia: What we know and what we don’t

Invasive Candida pneumonia, in association with Candida esophagitis and gastritis, in a presumably immunocompetent patient

Candida pneumonia remains a difficult diagnosis and is most common in immunocompromised individuals. It has been rarely reported in immunocompetent individuals. We present a case of unsuspected Candida pneumonia associated with Candida esophagitis and gastritis discovered on postmortem examination in a presumably immunocompetent patient. The patient was a 71-year-old male who presented with chest pain and was subsequently found to have a myocardial infarction treated with angioplasty and drug-eluting stent placement. The patient's recovery was complicated by pneumonia refractory to antibiotics, and he went on to experience acute hypoxic respiratory failure, sepsis, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and ultimately expired. Autopsy revealed evidence of myocardial infarction as well as unsuspected Candida albicans pneumonia, esophagitis, and gastritis. Our case highlights how a presumably immunocompetent individual can develop this infection and how Candida esophagitis and Candida gastritis can be seen in association with Candida pneumonia. Due to the difficulty in diagnosing Candida pneumonia antemortem, autopsies provide a key opportunity to better understand these cases and the factors that may contribute to their development.

Intensive Care of Pulmonary Complications Following Liver Transplantation

Chronic liver disease has been associated with pulmonary dysfunction both before and after liver transplantation. Post-liver transplantation pulmonary complications can affect both morbidity and mortality often necessitating intensive care during the immediate postoperative period. The major pulmonary complications include pneumonia, pleural effusions, pulmonary edema, and atelectasis. Poor clinical outcomes have been known to be associated with age, severity of liver dysfunction, and preexisting lung disease as well as perioperative events related to fluid balance, particularly transfusion and fluid volumes. Delineating each and every one of these pulmonary complications and their associated risk factors becomes paramount in guiding specific therapeutic strategies.

Effect of oral hygiene interventions on opportunistic pathogens in patients after stroke

BACKGROUND

Despite the role of the oral cavity as a reservoir of opportunistic pathogens for infection in patients following stroke, the evaluation of the effects of oral hygiene interventions has been largely neglected.

METHODS

This randomized clinical trial included 102 patients undergoing hospital-based rehabilitation for stroke. Patients were randomized to one of 3 groups: oral hygiene instruction (OHI) only; OHI and 0.2% chlorhexidine mouth rinse twice daily; or OHI, 0.2% chlorhexidine mouth rinse twice daily, and assisted brushing twice weekly. Oral samples were obtained at baseline and after 3 weeks for detection of Staphylococcus aureus, aerobic and facultatively anaerobic gram-negative bacilli, and yeasts.

RESULTS

Almost three-quarters (72.8%) of the patients harbored oral anaerobic gram-negative bacilli at baseline, and more than half had detectable S aureus (56.8%) and yeasts (59.3%). Percentage frequencies and viable counts of pathogens remained relatively stable during the course of the clinical trial, and no significant differences were observed among the 3 patient groups.

CONCLUSIONS

In our study cohort, there was no significant difference in the effectiveness of the 3 different oral hygiene interventions on the prevalence or viable counts of oral opportunistic pathogens.

Invasive fungal infections in lung transplant recipients not receiving routine systemic antifungal prophylaxis: 12-year experience at a university lung transplant center

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To determine the rate of invasive fungal infection among the lung transplant population at a center that does not provide routine systemic antifungal prophylaxis, and to compare that rate with rates currently reported in the literature.

DESIGN

Retrospective medical record review.

SETTING

University-affiliated lung transplant center.

PATIENTS

Two hundred forty-two adults without cystic fibrosis who underwent lung transplantation between March 1, 1994, and June 30, 2006.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Patients were followed by the adult lung transplant service. Twenty-three cases of invasive fungal infections were identified in 22 patients, resulting in a 9.1% overall invasive fungal infection rate in our study population. Aspergillus infections were the most common type of fungal infection identified, occurring in 11 (47.8%) of the 23 cases, with an overall rate of 4.5% (11/242 patients). Invasive fungal infections in lung transplant recipients have been reported in the literature at a rate 15-35%, with rates of Aspergillus infections reported as 3-15%.

CONCLUSION

Despite the absence of routine systemic antifungal prophylaxis, the overall invasive fungal infection rate and the Aspergillus infection rate in these lung transplant recipients do not appear to be higher than the rates reported in the literature.

Oral health promotion interventions on oral yeast in hospitalised and medically compromised patients: a systematic review

Yeast are major aetiological agents of localised oral mucosal lesions, and are also leading causes of nosocomial bloodstream infections. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of oral health promotion interventions on the prevalence and incidence of these opportunistic oral pathogens in hospitalised and medically compromised patients. The PubMed, ISI Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were searched for clinical trials assessing the effect of oral health promotion interventions on oral yeast. Chlorhexidine delivered in a variety of oral hygiene products appeared to have some effect on oral yeast, although some studies found equivocal effects. Although a wide array of other compounds have also been investigated, their clinical effectiveness remains to be substantiated. Likewise, the utility of mechanical oral hygiene interventions and other oral health promotion measures such as topical application of salivary substitute, remains unsettled. Although many chemical agents contained in oral hygiene products have proven in vitro activity against oral yeast, their clinical effectiveness and potential role as adjuncts or alternative therapies to conventional treatment remains to be confirmed by further high-quality randomised controlled trials. This is pertinent, given the recent emergence of yeast resistance to conventional antifungal agents.