Etiology, Predisposing Factors, Clinical Features and Diagnostic Procedure of Otomycosis: A Literature Review

Invasive Fungal Infections of the Head and Neck: A Tertiary Hospital Experience

From the existing millions of fungal species, only a few cause disease. In this study, we investigated invasive fungal infections in the head and neck (H&N) over a 19-year period (2005 to 2024) at a large academic healthcare system. Among the 413 documented fungal H&N infections, 336 were noninvasive, and 77 were invasive. The highest incidence of invasive infections occurred in the sinonasal cavities, with a 15-fold difference compared to other sites. Most infections affected adults over 40 years old. The most common organisms were Mucorales (51%), hyaline molds (29%), and Candida (11%). Risk factors included malignancy, transplant, diabetes, and illicit drug use. Mortality was high in patients with malignancy and/or transplant. Infections affecting the mandible were usually a complication of osteoradionecrosis and were associated with the coinfection of Candida and Actinomyces. At other sites, infections were rare and were usually the result of penetrating injuries or immunosuppression. Treatment typically involved a combination of antifungals and surgical procedures.

[Efficacy and safety of topical combination therapy in patients with acute otitis externa]

AIM

To study the structure of the microbial landscape in patients with acute otitis externa, as well as to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combined drug chloramphenicol/clotrimazole/beclomethasone/lidocaine (Candibiotic) as an empirical therapy of this disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this retrospective study of real clinical practice, outpatient records of 963 patients who applied to the KDO of the Sverzhevsky Research Clinical Institute of Otorhinolaryngology with symptoms of otitis externa in the period from 2017 to 2022 were selected. Additional analysis was carried out on the clinical records of patients who received the combined drug Candibiotic. The endpoints of this analysis included data on the clinical and microbiological efficacy of therapy, as well as safety information.

RESULTS

According to microbiological testing, 60.6% of microorganisms belonged to bacterial flora, 26% were bacterial-fungal associations, 11.6% were monofungal flora, in 1.8% of cases there was no growth of microorganisms. The most frequently isolated microorganisms were: Pseudomonas spp (n=291; 29.16%), Staphylococcus spp. (n=214; 21.4%), Candida spp. (n=194; 19.4%), Aspergillus spp. (n=133; 13.3%). Most of the patients (71.0%) received Candibiotic. In 69.7% of patients, the resolution of the clinical symptoms of otitis externa occurred within 7 days of therapy with Candibiotic. Complete eradication of microorganisms occurred in 87% of cases. Adverse events were recorded only in 3 (0.04%) cases.

CONCLUSION

The study demonstrated an extremely high level of clinical efficacy and safety of therapy in patients with acute external infectious otitis who received the Candibiotic, which can be used as an initial empirical therapy in patients with otitis externa.

A Repertoire of the Less Common Clinical Yeasts

Invasive fungal diseases are a public health problem. They affect a constantly increasing number of at-risk patients, and their incidence has risen in recent years. These opportunistic infections are mainly due to Candida sp. but less common or rare yeast infections should not be underestimated. These so-called "less common" yeasts include Ascomycota of the genera Candida (excluding the five major Candida species), Magnusiomyces/Saprochaete, Malassezia, and Saccharomyces, and Basidiomycota of the genera Cryptococcus (excluding the Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii complex members), Rhodotorula, and Trichosporon. The aim of this review is to (i) inventory the less common yeasts isolated in humans, (ii) provide details regarding the specific anatomical locations where they have been detected and the clinical characteristics of the resulting infections, and (iii) provide an update on yeast taxonomy. Of the total of 239,890 fungal taxa and their associated synonyms sourced from the MycoBank and NCBI Taxonomy databases, we successfully identified 192 yeasts, including 127 Ascomycota and 65 Basidiomycota. This repertoire allows us to highlight rare yeasts and their tropism for certain anatomical sites and will provide an additional tool for diagnostic management.