An accidental mass

Aspergillus Endocarditis in the recent years, report of cases of a multicentric national cohort and literature review

OBJECTIVES

1) To describe the incidence, clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome of Aspergillus Endocarditis (AE) in a nationwide multicentric cohort (GAMES). 2) To compare the AE cases of the GAMES cohort, with the AE cases reported in the literature since 2010. 3) To identify variables related to mortality.

METHODS

We recruited 10 AE cases included in the GAMES cohort (January 2008-December 2018) and 51 cases from the literature published from January 2010-July 2019.

RESULTS

4.528 patients with Infectious Endocarditis (IE) were included in the GAMES cohort, of them 10 (0.2%) were AE. After comparing our 10 cases with the 51 of the literature, no differences were found. Analyzing the 61 AE cases together, 55.7% were male, median age 45 years. Their main underlying conditions were: prosthetic valve surgery (34.4%) and solid organ transplant (SOT) (19.7%). Mainly affecting mitral (36.1%) and aortic valve (29.5%). Main isolated species were: A.fumigatus (47.5%) and A.flavus (24.6%). Embolisms occurred in 54%. Patients were treated with antifungals (90.2%), heart surgery (85.2%) or both (78.7%). Overall, 52.5% died. A greater mortality was observed in immunosuppressed patients (59.4% vs 24.1%, OR=4.09, 95%CI=1.26-13.19, p=0.02) and lower mortality was associated with undergoing cardiac surgery plus azole therapy (28.1% vs 65.5%, OR=0.22, 95%CI=0.07-0.72, p=0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

AE accounts for 0.2% of all IE episodes of a national multicentric cohort, mainly affecting patients with previous valvular surgery or SOT recipients. Mortality remains high especially in immunosuppressed hosts and azole-based treatment combined with surgical resection are related to a better outcome.

Potential benefit of combination antifungal therapy in Aspergillus endocarditis

Aspergillus endocarditis (AE) is a rare condition with a mortality rate greater than 60%. While it is generally accepted that both antifungal therapy and surgery are necessary for survival, the optimal antifungal regimen is unclear. A 62-year-old man was diagnosed with AE of a prosthetic aortic valve, complicated by cerebral emboli. He underwent debridement of the aortic valve abscess and valve replacement, and was managed with a combination of liposomal amphotericin B and voriconazole for 7 weeks followed by long-term suppressive azole therapy. He remained well at follow-up 18 months later. Data from a review of case reports published between 1950 and 2010 revealed greater survival rates in patients managed with two or more antifungals as opposed to single agent therapy. We provide an updated literature review with similar findings, suggesting that dual agent antifungal therapy should be considered in patients with AE.

Fungal fibrosing mediastinitis in pregnancy - Case report with review of literature

Fibrosing mediastinitis (FM) is characterized by extensive and invasive fibro-inflammatory proliferation, triggered by a delayed hypersensitivity reaction to variety of infective or noninfective stimuli. The infective agents often have a geographic distribution such as Histoplasma capsulatum in North America and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Asian regions. In few reports, the mediastinitis is caused by fungi, particularly Aspergillus species. We report the first case of possible aspergillous FM in a young pregnant woman.

Bulky mediastinal aspergillosis mimicking cancer in an immunocompetent patient

We describe the case of a previously healthy 42-year-old woman who presented with a chronic cough and occasional night sweats. Radiologic exploration showed a bulky mediastinal mass surrounding the aortic arch, associated with a left subclavicular lymph node and a cerebral round lesion, mimicking a disseminated lung cancer. Surgical left subclavicular and computed tomography-guided mediastinal biopsy specimens showed granulomatous patterns. Mycologic culture of both samples grew Aspergillus flavus. Resolution was obtained after 9 months of oral voriconazole therapy.