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Advances in Pediatric Fungal Infections: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Emerging Challenges
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Advances in Pediatric Fungal Infections: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Emerging Challenges

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Pathogenesis and Disease Control".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1819

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Fabianne Carlesse

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Instituto de Oncologia Pediátrica, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
2. Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), Universidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Interests: invasive fungal diseases; pediatrics; antifungal agents; fungal pathogens
Dr. María Elena Santolaya de Pablo

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital Dr. Luis Calvo Mackenna, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Interests: febrile neutropenia; fungal infectious diseases; vaccine; pediatrics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue entitled "Advances in Pediatric Fungal Infections: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Emerging Challenges" aims to present recent research on various aspects of fungal infections in immunocompromised children. Invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality among pediatric patients with cancer, hematologic disorders, and those undergoing transplantation. Despite significant progress in diagnostic tools and antifungal therapies, the management of these infections remains complex due to emerging resistant species, diagnostic delays, and host-related factors.

This Special Issue seeks to gather high-quality research and reviews that address critical knowledge gaps and propose innovative approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of IFDs in pediatric populations. Some of its focal points include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Epidemiology and burden of IFDs in pediatric populations, with a focus on onco-hematologic patients;
  2. Advances in diagnostic techniques, including biomarkers and molecular tools, that are available for pediatrics;
  3. When and how to perform antifungal therapeutic drug monitoring in children;
  4. New antifungal agents that are available for children;
  5. Host immune responses and risk stratification models;
  6. Infection prevention strategies and antifungal prophylaxis;
  7. Rare fungal pathogens in immunocompromised children.

Reviews, original research, and short communications will be welcome.

Dr. Fabianne Carlesse
Dr. María Elena Santolaya de Pablo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pediatrics
  • children
  • invasive fungal diseases
  • new antifungal agents
  • rare fungal pathogens

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 766 KB  
Article
Clinical Significance of Rare Non-Candida Yeasts in Pediatric Fungemia: A Retrospective Analysis
by Gül Arga, Halil Özdemir, Duygu Öcal, Elif Somuncu, Hülya Akat, Döndü Nilay Penezoğlu, Hatice Belkıs İnceli, Yasemin Ezgi Köstekçi, Hasan Fatih Çakmaklı, Merve Havan, Sonay İncesoy Özdemir, Tanıl Kendirli, Mehmet Ertem, Nurdan Taçyıldız and Ergin Çiftçi
J. Fungi 2026, 12(4), 235; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12040235 - 25 Mar 2026
Viewed by 519
Abstract
Background: Fungemia caused by non-Candida yeasts is rare but represents an emerging clinical problem that remains less well recognized and studied. These organisms often exhibit intrinsic resistance or reduced susceptibility to commonly used empirical antifungal agents, such as fluconazole and echinocandins. This [...] Read more.
Background: Fungemia caused by non-Candida yeasts is rare but represents an emerging clinical problem that remains less well recognized and studied. These organisms often exhibit intrinsic resistance or reduced susceptibility to commonly used empirical antifungal agents, such as fluconazole and echinocandins. This poses significant challenges for empirical antifungal therapy. Objectives: To describe the clinical characteristics, antifungal treatments, and outcomes of pediatric patients with bloodstream infections due to non-Candida yeasts and to summarize the antifungal susceptibility profiles of available isolates. Methods: This retrospective study reviewed all episodes of fungemia caused by non-Candida yeasts at a tertiary pediatric center between 1 January 2020 and 1 September 2025. Results: Of the 139 yeast-related fungemia episodes identified during the study period, five (3.6%) were caused by non-Candida yeasts: three by Trichosporon spp., one by Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, and one by Magnusiomyces clavatus (formerly Saprochaete clavatus). Two cases occurred as breakthrough infections under ongoing antifungal treatment. Empirical antifungal treatments most often included amphotericin B, fluconazole, or echinocandins. The median time to species-level identification after the first positive culture result was six days (range 4–7), highlighting a considerable delay that may critically affect clinical management. Overall mortality was 40%, while attributable mortality due to non-Candida fungemia was 20%. Conclusions: Non-Candida yeasts, although infrequent, represent clinically important pathogens in pediatric fungemia due to their potential resistance to standard empirical antifungal agents. Early species-level identification and awareness of expected susceptibility patterns are essential to guide appropriate initial therapy and improve outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pediatric Fungal Infections: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Emerging Challenges)
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14 pages, 1295 KB  
Article
Advancing the Identification of Risk Factors for Invasive Fungal Disease in Children with Cancer
by Marlon Barraza, Romina Valenzuela, Valentina Gutiérrez, Claudia Greppi, Ana M. Álvarez, Jaime Cerda and María Elena Santolaya
J. Fungi 2026, 12(1), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12010060 - 13 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 931
Abstract
Invasive fungal disease (IFD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised pediatric patients. This is a multicenter prospective cohort study with a nested retrospective analysis aimed at identifying risk factors for IFD in immunocompromised children with cancer and [...] Read more.
Invasive fungal disease (IFD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised pediatric patients. This is a multicenter prospective cohort study with a nested retrospective analysis aimed at identifying risk factors for IFD in immunocompromised children with cancer and episodes of persistent high-risk febrile neutropenia (HRFN). One hundred and seventy-four episodes of persistent HRFN were analyzed, of which 34 (19.5%) were confirmed as IFD, 52.9% were caused by filamentous fungi, and 47.1% by yeasts. Logistic regression and survival analyses identified the following significant risk factors for IFD: male sex (OR 4.04), adolescence (OR 4.65), C-reactive protein ≥ 90 mg/L at admission (OR 3.13), and transfer to a critical care unit (OR 10.73). The predictive model demonstrated strong discriminatory capacity (AUC 0.84), with 79.4% sensitivity and 82.1% specificity. These findings highlight that adolescents, particularly males with severe clinical conditions and elevated inflammatory markers, are at the highest risk for IFD during episodes of HRFN. The proposed risk factor-based model may support early risk stratification and guide targeted antifungal prophylaxis or therapy, potentially improving outcomes in this population. Validation an external cohort is required to confirm these results and optimize clinical applicability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pediatric Fungal Infections: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Emerging Challenges)
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