Chronic invasive fungal rhinosinusitis and granulomatous invasive fungal sinusitis: A systematic review of symptomatology and outcomes

INTRODUCTION

Chronic invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (CIFRS) and granulomatous invasive fungal sinusitis are two uncommon diseases differentiated primarily by the pathologic finding of non-caseating granulomas in GIFRS. Both share many similarities in presentation. We aim to characterize the symptomatology and outcomes of these diseases.

METHODS

A comprehensive search strategy was designed to identify studies in the Cochrane, EMBASE and PubMed databases from database inception to January 2022. Inclusion criteria included all patients with a diagnosis of either CIFRS or GIFRS. All studies were screened by two reviewers. Chi-square analyses were used where appropriate.

RESULTS

51 studies were included totaling 513 patients. The majority were diagnosed with CIFRS (389, 75.8 %) compared to GIFRS (124, 24.4 %). CIFRS was more common in immunocompromised or diabetic patients (p < 0.0001; p = 0.02). Patients with CIFRS were more likely to exhibit nasal symptoms including discharge (p = 0.0001), obstruction (p = 0.03) and congestion (p = 0.001) as well as systemic symptoms including fever, which no GIFRS patient exhibited, facial pain (p = 0.007), headache (p = 0.004). Aspergillus was the most common organism identified in both groups with a slight predominance among GIFRS patients (p = 0.01). GIFRS patients were also more likely to present with no identifiable organisms (p = 0.0006). CIFRS patients were more likely to die of disease (p = 0.0008).

CONCLUSIONS

CIFRS generally presents with more symptoms and is associated with poorer outcomes primarily occurring in an immunocompromised population. GIFRS likely follows a more insidious course in immunocompetent patients. Understanding the key differences in symptomatology and outcomes for these two populations is critical for appropriate diagnosis and prognostication.

Chronic Granulomatous Invasive Fungal Sinusitis in Patients With Immunocompetence: A Review

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to study the literature on chronic granulomatous invasive fungal sinusitis to elucidate the changing trends in the management of the disease.

DATA SOURCES

Using specific keywords, we searched the PubMed, PubMed Central, and Scopus databases over the past 50 years, which yielded 938 articles in the English language.

REVIEW METHODS

Scrutiny of 147 relevant articles revealed 15 homogenous case series (255 cases of histologically proven chronic granulomatous fungal sinusitis alone) and 8 heterogeneous case series (patients with other types of fungal sinusitis included), which were analyzed in detail (all with >5 cases each).

CONCLUSIONS

The disease typically affected middle-aged adults with immunocompetence. Most reports were from Sudan, India, and Saudi Arabia. A slowly progressive orbital, cheek, or palatal mass with proptosis (88.2%) or sinonasal symptoms (39.2%) was typical. Ethmoid (57.2%) and maxillary (51.4%) sinuses were chiefly affected with intracranial extension in 35.1%. Aspergillus flavus (64%) was the most frequent isolate reported. Endoscopic excision (78.8%) followed by azole therapy was the preferred treatment in recent reports. Orbital exenteration and craniotomy were infrequently performed. Complete resolution or improvement was reported in 91.3% of patients. Mortality ranged from 5.9% to 22.2%. There is a trend in the literature toward less radical and disfiguring surgery and preferential use of azoles, with good outcomes even in advanced cases.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Chronic granulomatous fungal sinusitis should be diagnosed on the basis of well-defined histopathologic features. A combination of endoscopic sinus surgery and azole therapy usually yields good outcomes.

"Chronic granulomatous invasive fungal rhinosinusitis associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A case report"

Introduction and importance

Granulomatous chronic invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (GCIFR) is a rare entity with scarce cases reported mainly in subtropical areas. Its prevalence among individuals with clinical suspicion of fungal rhinosinusitis has been reported in approximately 20% in subtropical populations, unlike North America with a prevalence of 0.5%. It is typically associated with Aspergillus flavus and the presence of noncaseating granulomas or Langerhans giant cells on histopathologic examination.

Case presentation

We describe a case of a patient with clinical history of recent SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of intense cephalalgia, visual impairment, palpebral ptosis, and limitation of extraocular movements. MRI demonstrated the presence of opacification of paranasal sinuses, and a left intraconal abscess. A surgical endoscopic approach was performed and histopathologic examination revealed frontal GCIFR and maxillary fungus ball. Treatment with IV azoles provided adequate clinical response.

Clinical discussion

The spectrum of the fungal rhinosinusitis disease is not clear. However, non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis is not often found concomitantly with invasive types. GCIFR typically manifests with an indolent and gradual progression at early stages. Advanced stages can exhibit orbital and intracranial involvement leading to visual impairment, frequent relapses, and a poor prognosis. A higher incidence of invasive fungal rhinosinusitis has been reported in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection despite an unremarkable medical history, associated with immune dysregulation.

Conclusion

GCIFR is a rare condition with few cases reported in America. Because of its uncommonness, its diagnosis is often delayed leading to increased morbidity and mortality.

•

Granulomatous chronic invasive fungal rhinosinusitis is a rare entity with scarce cases reported.

•

Non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis is not often found concomitantly with invasive types.

•

A higher incidence of invasive fungal rhinosinusitis is observed in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

•

Early diagnosis of fungal rhinosinusitis is essential due to possibly fatal outcome.

•

Physicians should be aware of atypical manifestations for a prompt diagnosis.

Entities of Chronic and Granulomatous Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis: Separate or Not?

Background

Chronic and granulomatous invasive fungal rhinosinusitis are important causes of blindness and craniocerebral complications. However, the classification of these 2 diseases remains controversial.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed patients with chronic and granulomatous invasive fungal rhinosinusitus in a Chinese tertiary hospital from 2009 to 2017, with a focus on classification and comparisons.

Results

Among 55 patients enrolled in our study, 11 (11/55, 20%) had granulomatous invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (GIFRS) and 44 (44/55, 80%) had chronic invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (CIFRS). Aspergillus fumigatus and Dematiaceous hyphomycetes were identified in 2 patients with GIFRS. Compared with granulomatous type, CIFRS was more frequently encountered in immunocompromised patients (P = .022), and the time from onset to diagnosis was much shorter (P = .001). Proptosis and orbital apex syndrome showed no significant difference between granulomatous and CIFRS in our study. The treatment options and prognosis of both diseases also showed no significant difference.

Conclusions

Despite the consensus on histopathology, the classification of the chronic and granulomatous types may need further evaluation in clinical considerations.

Evidence for a 'preinvasive' variant of fungal sinusitis: Tissue invasion without angioinvasion

Clinical experience has suggested the existence of an intermediate form of fungal sinusitis between the categories of non-invasive fungal sinusitis (non-IFS) and invasive fungal sinusitis (IFS). This fungal sinusitis variant demonstrates unhealthy mucosa by endoscopy with fungal invasion, but lacks angioinvasion microscopically, representing what clinically behaves as a 'pre-invasive' subtype of fungal sinusitis. Unlike non-IFS disease, patients with pre-invasive fungal sinusitis were still felt to require anti-fungal medications due to histologic presence of invasive fungus. While sharing some clinical features of IFS, these 'intermediate' patients were successfully spared extended and repeated surgical debridements given the microscopic findings, and have been successfully treated with shorter courses of antifungal therapy. These select patients have had favorable outcomes when managed in a judicious and semi-aggressive manner, in an undefined zone between the treatments for routine fungal ball and aggressive IFS.

Granulomatous Diseases and Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Chronic rhinosinusitis often fails to respond to standard medical or surgical treatment. In some of these cases, the underlying disease may be a chronic granulomatous process that requires aggressive topical, local, and in some instances, systemic therapy. Diseases that can present in this manner include autoimmune vasculitis, sarcoidosis, indolent infections, neoplastic processes, and various other miscellaneous conditions. This article reviews the typical presentations for some of these unusual conditions and discusses the appropriate evaluations that will lead to clinical identification and effective medical management.