INVASIVE FUNGAL INFECTIONS IN CHILDREN WITH HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES: A 5-Year Study

摘要

Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are life-threatening infections and represent an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised children,particularly those with hematological malignancies and stem cell transplantation [1]. Although in the last decades there has been an improvement in event-free survival (EFS) in children with cancer secondary to advances in current treatment and successful management of bacterial and viral infections, IFI remain a devastating problem [2, 3]. Many factors contribute to developing of fungal infections More than 90% of patients who develop an IFI have at least ofie of the following factors: cytotoxic chemotherapy, corticosteroid therapy, mucositis, bone marrow transplantation, long-term parenteral nutrition, and prolonged and/or severe neutropenia [4, 5]. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the frequency of IFI in a major pediatric oncology center in Greece and to report our results regarding patient characteristics, diagnosis, efficacy of treatment, and outcome of IFI.