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Clinical and Epidemiological Aspects of Infections Caused by Fusarium Species: a Collaborative Study from Israel

Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem,¹ Departments of Infectious Diseases,² Clinical Microbiology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer,³ Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel⁴

Received 13 November 2003/ Returned for modification 8 January 2004/ Accepted 5 May 2004

Fusarium infections are an important problem worldwide, commonly affecting immunocompromised individuals. We conducted a retrospective study in two Israeli tertiary medical centers of factors predisposing to infection by Fusarium spp. and their influence on the epidemiology and clinical outcome of this infection. Fusarium spp. were isolated from 89 patients with a median age of 57 years. Sixty-eight patients were considered immunocompetent. Seven patients had disseminated disease, 34 had locally invasive disease, and 48 had superficial infection. Most infections were limited and occurred mainly in lower limbs. Factors associated with in-hospital mortality were chronic renal failure, hematological malignancy, immunosuppression, disseminated infection, and positive blood culture. Multivariate analysis showed that chronic renal failure, hematological malignancy, burns, and disseminated infection were independently associated with mortality. A surge in the frequency of infections was noticed during the summer for patients from rural areas, involving mainly the eyes and lungs. At one of the hospitals (in a mountainous area), there was an increase in the isolation rate over time.

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