ABSTRACT
Fungal infections are becoming one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in people with weakened immune systems. Mycoses are becoming more common, despite greater knowledge and better treatment methods, due to the regular emergence of resistance to the antifungal medications used in clinical settings. Antifungal therapy is the mainstay of patient management for acute and chronic mycoses. However, the limited availability of antifungal drug classes limits the range of available treatments. Additionally, several drawbacks to treating mycoses include unfavourable side effects, a limited activity spectrum, a paucity of targets, and fungal resistance, all of which continue to be significant issues in developing antifungal drugs. The emergence of antifungal drug resistance has eliminated accessible drug classes as treatment choices, which significantly compromises the clinical management of fungal illnesses. In some situations, the emergence of strains resistant to many antifungal medications is a major concern. Although new medications have been developed to address this issue, antifungal drug resistance has grown more pronounced, particularly in patients who need long-term care or are undergoing antifungal prophylaxis. Moreover, the mechanisms that cause resistance must be well understood, including modifications in drug target affinities and abundances, along with biofilms and efflux pumps that diminish intracellular drug levels, to find novel antifungal drugs and drug targets. In this review, different classes of antifungal agents, and their resistance mechanisms, have been discussed. The latter part of the review focuses on the strategies by which we can overcome this serious issue of antifungal resistance in humans.
ABSTRACT
Compared with truly negative cultures, false positive blood cultures (BCs) not only increase laboratory work but also prolong the lengths of patient stays, which are likely to increase patient morbidity and costs. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a hospital-wide educational intervention on BC contamination rates. Nurses performed all phlebotomies; therefore, educational workshops were offered to all nurses twice a week over a 3-month period. The workshops consisted of a questionnaire, PowerPoint presentation, video show, demonstration of the different materials used to collect BCs, and question session. Data from the questionnaires and laboratory culture results were compared between the 6-month pre- and post-intervention periods. Of the 503 eligible nurses, 216 (42.9%) attended the workshops. The survey identified areas for improvement, which included time of disinfectant application, volume of blood to be cultured, and disinfection of BC bottle tops. Of the 9903 BC sets that were drawn from 3649 patients during the study period, 676 (6.8%) were contaminated. The monthly BC contamination rates for the 6-month pre- and post-intervention periods were 8.1% and 5.2%, respectively, representing a 36% reduction (P=0.008). Only three wards had an acceptable contamination rate of ≤3% before the intervention, compared with eight wards after the intervention. While contamination of BCs can never be completely eliminated, there is evidence that adherence to best practice BC collection techniques can minimize BC contamination, which might be best achieved with a dedicated phlebotomy team.
