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Hematology Reports
  • Hematology Reports is published by MDPI from Volume 14 Issue 1 (2022). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with PAGEPress.
  • Case Report
  • Open Access

30 June 2011

Two Cases of Aspergillus Endocarditis in Non Neutropenic Children on Chemotherapy for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia

and
1
Department of Heart of England NHS Trust, Bordesley Green, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK
2
Haematology Department, Birmingham Childrens Hospital, Birmingham B4 6NH, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract

Fungal endocarditis (FE) is a rare complication in immunocompromised patients which is difficult to diagnose and has been characterized by excessive mortality (>50%) and morbidity, regardless of treatment. The lack of clinical trials due to the small number of cases contributes further to a poor outcome. In our two cases of aspergilllus endocarditis we reviewed the clinical features, echocardiographic findings, microbiologic data, treatment, and outcome of these 2 cases and provide a current characterization of the syndrome. In this paper we have demonstrated the diversity of presentation of a critical fungal infection in immunocompromised but non neutropenic paediatric patients. The prompt diagnosis and initiation of treatment is crucial for a favourable outcome along with the use of double antifungal treatment with liposomal amphotericin and voriconazole initially which could be later switched to oral voriconazole with a good tissue penetration. Histological samples as well as radiological evidence and echocardiograms should be reviewed by experienced clinicians in order to aid diagnosis and promptly initiate treatment for these patients in order to achieve a favourable outcome.

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