Diagnosis and management of Aspergillus diseases: executive summary of the 2017 ESCMID-ECMM-ERS guideline.

The European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, the European Confederation of Medical Mycology and the European Respiratory Society Joint Clinical Guidelines focus on diagnosis and management of aspergillosis. Of the numerous recommendations, a few are summarized here. Chest computed tomography as well as bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in patients with suspicion of pulmonary invasive aspergillosis (IA) are strongly recommended. For diagnosis, direct microscopy, preferably using optical brighteners, histopathology and culture are strongly recommended. Serum and BAL galactomannan measures are recommended as markers for the diagnosis of IA. PCR should be considered in conjunction with other diagnostic tests. Pathogen identification to species complex level is strongly recommended for all clinically relevant Aspergillus isolates; antifungal susceptibility testing should be performed in patients with invasive disease in regions with resistance found in contemporary surveillance programmes. Isavuconazole and voriconazole are the preferred agents for first-line treatment of pulmonary IA, whereas liposomal amphotericin B is moderately supported. Combinations of antifungals as primary treatment options are not recommended. Therapeutic drug monitoring is strongly recommended for patients receiving posaconazole suspension or any form of voriconazole for IA treatment, and in refractory disease, where a personalized approach considering reversal of predisposing factors, switching drug class and surgical intervention is also strongly recommended. Primary prophylaxis with posaconazole is strongly recommended in patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia or myelodysplastic syndrome receiving induction chemotherapy. Secondary prophylaxis is strongly recommended in high-risk patients. We strongly recommend treatment duration based on clinical improvement, degree of immunosuppression and response on imaging.

[French recommendations on control measures to reduce the infectious risk in immunocompromised patients]. / Quelles mesures pour maîtriser le risque infectieux chez les patients immunodéprimés ? Recommandations formalisées d'experts.

The increase use of immunosuppressive treatments in patients with solid cancer and/or inflammatory diseases requires revisiting our practices for the prevention of infectious risk in the care setting. A review of the literature by a multidisciplinary working group at the beginning of 2014 wished to answer the following 4 questions to improve healthcare immunocompromised patients: (I) How can we define immunocompromised patients with high, intermediate and low infectious risk, (II) which air treatment should be recommended for this specific population? (III) What additional precautions should be recommended for immunocompromised patients at risk for infection? (IV) Which global environmental control should be recommended? Based on data from the literature and using the GRADE method, we propose 15 recommendations that could help to reduce the risk of infection in these exposed populations.

Prospective pilot study of high-dose (10 mg/kg/day) liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB) for the initial treatment of mucormycosis.

BACKGROUND: Mucormycosis incidence is increasing and is associated with a high rate of mortality. Although lipid-based formulations of amphotericin B are the recommended first-line treatment, only one prospective trial in a limited number of patients has been performed to evaluate this regimen. METHODS: Patients with proven or probable mucormycosis were included between June 2007 and March 2011. Patients were scheduled to receive 10 mg/kg/day liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB) monotherapy for 1 month and surgery was performed when appropriate. The primary outcome was response rate at week 4 or at the end of treatment (EOT) if before week 4, evaluated by an independent committee. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00467883. RESULTS: Forty patients were enrolled. Response was analysed in 33 patients at week 4. Most patients had a haematological malignancy as their primary underlying disease (53%). Seventy-one percent of patients underwent therapeutic surgery. The response rate at week 4 or at EOT was 36%, with 18% partial responses and 18% complete responses. The response rate at week 12 was 45%, with 13% partial responses and 32% complete responses. Overall mortality was 38% at week 12 and 53% at week 24. Serum creatinine doubled in 16 (40%) patients and returned to normal levels within 12 weeks in 10/16 (63%). CONCLUSIONS: High-dose L-AMB for mucormycosis, in combination with surgery in 71% of cases, was associated with an overall response rate of 36% at week 4 and 45% at week 12 and creatinine level doubling in 40% of patients (transient in 63%). These results may serve as the basis for future clinical trials.

Long-term persistence of the immune response to antipneumococcal vaccines after Allo-SCT: 10-year follow-up of the EBMT-IDWP01 trial.

The guidelines for immunization of hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) recipients recommend three doses of antipneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) from 3 to 6 months after transplant, followed by a dose of polysaccharide 23-valent (PPV23) vaccine at 12 months in the case of no GVHD or an additional PCV dose in the case of GVHD. Due to the lack of long-term data in the literature, there is no recommendation for boosts after 12 months. Our goal was to assess the maintenance of the immune response to pneumococcal vaccines in patients vaccinated 10 years ago according to current guidelines. Thirty surviving patients of the IDWP01 (Infectious Diseases Working Party 1) trial were assessed for antibody levels against the seven antigens of the PCV7 and against two of the PPV23-specific antigens. When compared with 24 months after transplant, the immune response did not significantly decrease but with important serotype-specific variability. There was no evidence that an additional dose of PPV23 given to 11/30 patients 2-11 years after transplant was beneficial. In long-term HSCT survivors with no or few GVHD vaccinated against Streptococcus pneumoniae according to the current guidelines, the specific immunity is not fully maintained a decade later. The optimal schedule of antipneumococcal vaccination in HSCT recipients after 12 months remains to be established.

Reconstitution of regulatory T-cell subsets after allogeneic hematopoietic SCT.

Previous studies on regulatory T-cell (Treg) reconstitution after allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) have suggested that, within the GVHD process, imbalance between effector T cells and Tregs may be more important than the absolute numbers of circulating Tregs. No study has analyzed naive vs memory Treg reconstitution in a longitudinal cohort with large numbers of patients. The reconstitution of total and subsets of Treg was prospectively analyzed by flow cytometry in 185 consecutive recipients at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after allogeneic HSCT. The levels of total, naive and memory Tregs increased, mainly within the memory subset, but remained lower than healthy controls up to 2 years after transplantation. Reduced-intensity conditioning and peripheral blood (PBSC) as the source of stem cells were associated with better 3-month reconstitution. In multivariate analysis, PBSC, recipient age ⩽25 and no anti-thymoglobulin in the conditioning regimen were associated with a better Treg reconstitution. Naive Treg long-term reconstitution was mainly influenced by recipient age. Whereas prior acute GVHD impaired Treg reconstitution, Treg subsets (absolute numbers and frequencies relative to CD4(+) T-cell subsets) at 3, 6 and 12 months after HSCT were not associated with the occurrence of a later episode of chronic GVHD.

Outbreak in a haematology unit involving an unusual strain of glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus faecium carrying both vanA and vanB genes.

OBJECTIVES: To report an outbreak due to an unusual strain of Enterococcus faecium containing both the vanA and vanB genes, in France, where the rate of glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (GRE) is below 1%. METHODS: Cases were patients infected or colonized with GRE on the haematology ward. Contact patients were screened by real-time PCR performed on rectal swabs. Clinical features were compared for GRE-positive and GRE-negative patients. GRE isolates were characterized by phenotypic and molecular methods including PFGE. Conjugation experiments were performed to identify van genetic support. RESULTS: After the index patient presented a bacteraemia with vanA/vanB E. faecium, 56 contact patients were screened, 7 of whom were found to be GRE positive: 6 additional cases with vanA/vanB E. faecium and 1 with GRE carrying vanA only. PFGE confirmed the clonal relationship of the seven vanA/vanB E. faecium strains, whereas the vanA isolate was distinct. Only the vanA gene could be transferred to enterococcal recipients by conjugation, and it was probably localized on a mobile genetic element. All isolates were resistant to vancomycin (MIC > 256 mg/L) and teicoplanin (MIC = 24-32 mg/L), but were susceptible to tigecycline (MIC = 0.09 mg/L), linezolid (MIC = 0.75 mg/L) and daptomycin (MIC = 1-2 mg/L). Significant differences (P < 0.001) between carriers and non-carriers of GRE were observed for the median duration of hospitalization (57 days versus 16.5 days) and of neutropenia (40 days versus 6 days), the median number of antibiotics used (5 versus 1.5) and the duration of glycopeptide treatment (14.5 days versus 0 days). CONCLUSIONS: vanA/vanB E. faecium strains, although rare, can emerge in the absence of previous outbreaks of vanA-GRE or vanB-GRE.

Disseminated cutaneous infection due to Mycobacterium chelonae following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

This report describes two cases of disseminated cutaneous Mycobacterium chelonae after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after allogeneic hematopoietic SCT: phenotypes and prognosis.

Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) after allogeneic hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) is recognized as a new-onset obstructive lung defect (OLD) in pulmonary function testing and is related to pulmonary chronic GVHD. Little is known about the different phenotypes of patients with BOS and their outcomes. We reviewed the data of all allogeneic HSCT recipients referred to our pulmonary department for a non-infectious bronchial disease between 1999 and 2010. We identified 103 patients (BOS (n=77), asthma (n=11) and chronic bronchitis (n=15)). In patients with BOS, we identified two functional phenotypes: a typical OLD, that is, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio <0.7 (n=53), and an atypical OLD with a concomitant decrease in the FEV1 <80% and FVC <80% predicted with a normal total lung capacity (n=24). The typical OLD was characterized by more severe FEV1 and fewer centrilobular nodules on the computed tomography scan. The FEV1 was not significantly affected during the follow-up, regardless of the phenotype. In addition to acute and extensive chronic GVHD, only the occurrence of BOS soon after transplantation and the intentional treatment of BOS with steroids were associated with a poor survival. The determination of patient subgroups should be explored to improve the management of this condition.

Mucormycosis after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a French Multicentre Cohort Study (2003-2008).

We conducted a nationwide retrospective study to evaluate clinical characteristics and outcome of mucormycosis among allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Twenty-nine patients were diagnosed between 2003 and 2008. Mucormycosis occurred at a median of 225 days after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant, and as a breakthrough infection in 23 cases. Twenty-six patients were receiving steroids, mainly for graft-versus-host disease treatment, while ten had experienced a prior post-transplant invasive fungal infection. Twenty-six patients received an antifungal treatment; surgery was performed in 12. Overall survival was 34% at 3 months and 17% at 1 year.

Hepatosplenic candidiasis in the era of new antifungal drugs: a study in Paris 2000-2007.

We report a retrospective study of 24 patients with haematological malignancy and hepatosplenic candidiasis. Clinical and biological features were similar to previous reports. No patient previously received antifungal prophylaxis. Liver or spleen histological examination revealed yeasts in 6/24 patients (25%) on direct examination but all cultures were negative. After a median duration of 7 months, antifungal treatment was discontinued in 58% of the patients with no relapse. Eleven (46%) patients died during follow up. After multivariate analysis, independent factors associated with death were the duration of neutropenia (p 0.022) and relapsing haematological malignancy (p 0.015).

Significance of herpesvirus 6 in BAL fluid of hematology patients with acute respiratory failure.

PURPOSE: Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6) is an emerging cause of interstitial pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts. However, the clinical significance of a positive PCR test for HHV6 in respiratory samples from patients with hematological malignancies remains unclear. METHODS: We retrospectively studied the features and outcomes of 29 critically ill hematology patients with acute respiratory failure and lung pulmonary infiltrates visible on a chest radiograph, who tested positive for a qualitative PCR for HHV6 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. RESULTS: Of the 29 patients, 18 (62%) were stem cell transplant recipients and 11 (38%) had received chemotherapy. All patients had a fever. Clinical manifestations consistent with extra-pulmonary HHV6 disease were noted in 17 (59%) patients. One or more co-pathogens were found in 25 (86%) patients. The four remaining patients diagnosed with HHV6 pneumonia and subsequently recovered with foscarnet therapy. Antiviral therapy was also given to seven patients with co-infections, of whom two ultimately died. CONCLUSIONS: In most cases, HHV6 recovered from BAL fluid is a co-pathogen whose clinical relevance remains undetermined. However, in some cases, HHV6 is the only pathogen, along with disseminated systemic viral disease, and the patient is likely to benefit from foscarnet therapy.

Outcomes, infections, and immune reconstitution after double cord blood transplantation in patients with high-risk hematological diseases.

Double unrelated cord blood transplant (dUCBT) has been used to circumvent cell dose limitation of single UCBT; however, few data are available describing outcomes, infectious disease, and immune recovery. We analyzed 35 consecutive dUCBT recipients with high-risk malignant disorders (n=21) and bone marrow failure syndromes (n=14). Median follow-up was 32 months. Conditioning regimen was myeloablative in 14 and reduced intensity in 21 patients. Median infused nucleated cell dose was 4 × 10(7) /kg. Median time to absolute neutrophil count >0.5 × 10(9) /L was 25 days. Cumulative incidence (CI) of acute grade II-IV graft-versus-host disease was 47%. Estimated overall survival at 2 years was 48%. CI of first viral infections at 1 year was 92%. We observed 49 viral infections in 30 patients, 34 bacterial infections in 19 patients, and 16 fungal or parasitic infections in 12 patients. Lymphocyte subset analyses were performed at 3, 6, 9, and >12 months after dUCBT. Decreased T-cell and B-cell counts with expansion of natural killer cells were observed until 9 months post transplantation. Recovery of thymopoiesis measured by T-cell receptor excision circles was impaired until 9 months after dUCBT, when the appearance of new thymic precursors was observed. Delayed immune recovery and high incidence of infectious complications were observed after dUCBT in patients with high-risk hematological diseases.

Cost effectiveness of posaconazole in the prophylaxis of invasive fungal infections in acute leukaemia patients for the French healthcare system.

BACKGROUND: Acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) patients are at high risk of suffering from invasive fungal infections (IFI). Posaconazole demonstrated higher efficacy than standard azole agents (SAA) in the prophylaxis of IFI in this population. The authors estimated the cost effectiveness of posaconazole versus SAA in France. METHODS: A decision-tree model was developed to compare posaconazole with SAA with the results of a published clinical trial. Clinical events were modelled with chance nodes reflecting probabilities of IFI, IFI-related death, and death from other causes. Medical resource consumption and costs were obtained from results of the clinical trial and from a dedicated survey on the costs of treating IFI using a retrospective chart review design. RESULTS: IFI treatment costs were estimated using medical files from 50 AML patients from six French centres, with a proven and probable IFI, who had been followed-up for 298 days on average. Direct costs directly related to IFI were estimated at €51,033, including extra costs of index hospitalisation, costs of antifungal therapy and additional hospitalisations related to IFI treatment. The model indicated that the healthcare costs for the posaconazole strategy were €5,223 (€2,697 for prophylaxis and €2,526 for IFI management), which was €859 less than the €6,083 in costs with SAA (€469 for prophylaxis and €5614 for IFI management). A sensitivity analysis indicated that there was an 80% probability that prophylaxis using the posaconazole strategy would be superior. CONCLUSION: The findings from this analysis suggest that posaconazole use is a clinically and economically dominant strategy in the prophylaxis of IFI in AML patients, given the usual limits of economic models and the uncertainty of costs estimates.

European guidelines for antifungal management in leukemia and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: summary of the ECIL 3--2009 update.

In 2005, several groups, including the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, the European Organization for Treatment and Research of Cancer, the European Leukemia Net and the Immunocompromised Host Society created the European Conference on Infections in Leukemia (ECIL). The main goal of ECIL is to elaborate guidelines, or recommendations, for the management of infections in leukemia and stem cell transplant patients. The first sets of ECIL slides about the management of invasive fungal disease were made available on the web in 2006 and the papers were published in 2007. The third meeting of the group (ECIL 3) was held in September 2009 and the group updated its previous recommendations. The goal of this paper is to summarize the new proposals from ECIL 3, based on the results of studies published after the ECIL 2 meeting: (1) the prophylactic recommendations for hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients were formulated differently, by splitting the neutropenic and the GVHD phases and taking into account recent data on voriconazole; (2) micafungin was introduced as an alternative drug for empirical antifungal therapy; (3) although several studies were published on preemptive antifungal approaches in neutropenic patients, the group decided not to propose any recommendation, as the only randomized study comparing an empirical versus a preemptive approach showed a significant excess of fungal disease in the preemptive group.

The graft-versus-leukemia effect is mainly restricted to NIH-defined chronic graft-versus-host disease after reduced intensity conditioning before allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Incidence on relapse and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), per National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria, is not well defined after reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens. We analyzed the association of chronic GVHD with the risk of relapse and NRM using Cox models in 177 consecutive patients who underwent transplantation for hematological malignancies after RIC. The cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD at 36 months was 74% when using Seattle's criteria compared with 54% with NIH consensus. In Cox model, NRM was significantly higher in patients with late-onset, persistent and recurrent acute GVHD (hazard ratio (HR): 6, 25 and 11; P = 0.014, P<0.0001, P<0.0001, respectively). The cumulative incidence of relapse was significantly decreased in patients with chronic GVHD compared with no GVHD group using either Seattle's or NIH criteria (HR 0.43 and 0.38; P = 0.022 and 0.016, respectively), whereas the presence of late-onset, persistent and recurrent acute GVHD was not associated with a decreased rate of relapse (HR: not significant, 0.70 and 0.71; P = not significant, P = 0.73 and P = 0.54, respectively). Chronic GVHD per NIH consensus definition is associated with the graft-versus-tumor effect, whereas all forms associated with acute features beyond day 100 are associated with NRM.

Monitoring of nosocomial invasive aspergillosis and early evidence of an outbreak using cumulative sum tests (CUSUM).

In order to provide a statistically based evaluation of the incidence of invasive aspergillosis (IA) over time, we applied the cumulative sums (CUSUM) methodology, which was developed for quality control and has already been applied for the surveillance of hospital-acquired infections. Cases of IA were recorded during a 5-year period. Incidence rates of cases assumed to be hospital-acquired, i.e. nosocomial IA (NIA), were analysed using CUSUM tests. Relationships between NIA, fungal contamination and construction or renovation work were tested using time-series methods. Between January 2002 and December 2006, 81 cases of NIA were recorded. CUSUM analysis of NIA incidence showed no significant deviation from the expected monthly number of cases until August 2005, and then the CUSUM crossed the decision limit, i.e. identified a significant increase in NIA as compared with the reference period (January 2002 to December 2004). Up to April 2006, the learning-curve CUSUM stayed over its limit, supporting an ongoing outbreak involving 24 patients, and then it significantly decreased in May 2006. Follow-up after May 2006 indicated no out-of-control situation, supporting a return to the baseline situation. In haematology wards, significant links were found between NIA incidence and fungal contamination of several sites at each ward (mainly unprotected common sites). An environmental source of contamination could be suspected, but no significant relationship was found between NIA incidence and ongoing construction or renovation. In conclusion, the CUSUM test proved to be well suited for real-time monitoring of NIA and for early identification and follow-up of an outbreak.

Evaluation of a new 5'-nuclease real-time PCR assay targeting the Toxoplasma gondii AF146527 genomic repeat.

Toxoplasma gondii can be responsible for congenital toxoplasmosis leading to mild or severe sequelae, and for life-threatening infections in immunocompromised hosts. A new 5'-nuclease real-time PCR assay that targets the 300-fold repeated AF146527 DNA sequence (TaqMan-AF-PCR) has been developed and its performance for diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and treatment follow-up has been assessed. A retrospective analysis was first performed with 144 clinical specimens previously analysed for the presence of T. gondii DNA by a PCR-ELISA assay that targets the B1 gene of T. gondii (B1-PCR-ELISA). Fifteen samples, all from patients with clinically proven toxoplasmosis, were negative according to B1-PCR-ELISA and positive according to TaqMan-AF-PCR. A prospective analysis was then performed with 203 consecutive clinical specimens received at the laboratory of Parasitology of Saint-Louis Hospital during a 4-month period. The diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in two patients was made according to the TaqMan-AF-PCR whereas the B1-PCR-ELISA failed to make diagnosis. Additionally, iterative samples from a patient with cerebral and disseminated toxoplasmosis, already tested using a B1 real-time PCR assay, were tested using the TaqMan-AF-PCR and a Light Cycler real-time PCR assay targeting the same repetitive AF146527 sequence (LC-AF-PCR). Detection was achieved with the TaqMan-AF-PCR, with a mean gain of 7.1 and 3.3 amplification cycles when compared with the B1 real-time PCR and the LC-AF-PCR, respectively. This study demonstrates the higher sensitivity of the 5'-nuclease real-time PCR assay developed for the AF146527 DNA sequence and confirms the interest of using this highly repeated target to improve the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis.

High rate of breakthrough invasive aspergillosis among patients receiving caspofungin for persistent fever and neutropenia.

A number of agents are now available for empirical antifungal treatment (EAFT) of patients with persistent fever and neutropenia. We carried out a study of efficacy of antifungal drugs to prevent breakthrough invasive aspergillosis by reviewing the medical records of all consecutive patients who received EAFT from November 2005 to February 2006. Patients' characteristics and the type, dose and duration of antifungal therapy were recorded. Breakthrough invasive fungal infections were documented according to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group (EORTC/MSG) definition. Fifty-six episodes of persistent fever with neutropenia requiring EAFT were recorded among 49 patients. All patients received high-dose chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia (51%), acute lymphoid leukaemia (12%), lymphoma (14%) or other haematologic conditions (22%). Fourteen (29%) and five (10%) patients were allogeneic and autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, respectively. Caspofungin was prescribed initially in 40 episodes (71%), amphotericin B (AmB) desoxycholate and liposomal AmB being prescribed in six (10%) and ten (18%) episodes, respectively. Six patients were switched from liposomal AmB to caspofungin because of adverse events. The median duration of antifungal therapy was 9 days. During follow-up, six patients (12%) were diagnosed with invasive aspergillosis after a median of 8 days (range 3-16 days) of EAFT. Invasive aspergillosis breakthrough occurred in 6/46 (13%) caspofungin recipients and in 0/16 (0%) AmB recipients (OR 3.1, p 0.32). The observed high rate of invasive aspergillosis among caspofungin recipients requires further evaluation.