Intracardiac Fungal Mass in a Term Neonate

[Intracardiac fungal mass in extreme premature patient]

There are few reports on intracardiac fungal masses, especially in the pediatric population. We present the case of an extremely premature patient who, after being hospitalized since birth in an intensive care unit, developed fungal masses in the right atrium, which, due to their size, location and resistance to medical treatment, required surgical excision. For this reason, at the slightest suspicion of systemic candidiasis in pediatric patients, it is mandatory to include an echocardiogram in the defocalization examinations to rule out endocarditis and thus avoid the development of intracardiac fungal masses. Therefore, early detection for timely medical management may avoid the surgical approach associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality in extremely premature patients.

Invasive candidiasis in Africa, what is the current picture?

Invasive candidiasis is a serious, progressive, and potentially deadly infection that can affect the brain, heart, bones, eyes, and other parts of the body. It is associated with risk factors such as the use of indwelling medical devices and prolonged hospital stay, and broad-spectrum antibiotics use. It is especially seen in immunocompromised individuals such as patients with prolonged hospital stay, gastrointestinal surgery, haematological malignancies, and respiratory diseases. We have conducted a systematic search of literature using a select group of database and appropriate search words and found that in Africa, there are 18,293 documented/reported cases of invasive candidiasis in the last few decades (1976-2021) and 16,636(91%) were cases of candidaemia. South Africa had the highest number of reported cases - 15,002(82%), which may be due to underreporting of cases in other countries. HIV positive persons with invasive candidiasis in Africa accounted for 1,052(5.8%). C. albicans was the most frequently isolated species 6,328(32.6%), followed by Candida parapsilosis 5,910(30.4%), and Candida auris 1,505(7.8%). Due to the affordability and availability of blood culture, it was used for diagnosis in most of the studies examined, while a few studies combined other techniques and just 3 studies from 2 countries used serological tests. Echinocandins are recommended as first-line therapy but are only available in 12 countries and are highly priced. The use of fluconazole because of its availability and relatively inexpensive nature has led to increased resistance of Candida species to the drug.