[Invasive fungal infections in children: similarities and differences with adults]

Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised adults and children. The purpose of this review was to update the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic options in children, and to compare them with the adult population. Although there are important differences, the epidemiology, clinical features and risk factors for IFI have many similarities. Patient at risk include neutropenic hematology children, in whom Candida spp. y Aspergillus spp. predominate; primary immunodeficiencies, particularly chronic granulomatous disease with high susceptibility for Aspergillus spp.; and extremely premature infants, in whom C. albicans y C. parapsilosis are more prevalent. Premature babies are prone to dissemination, including the central nervous system. There are peculiarities in radiology and diagnostic biomarkers in children. In pulmonary aspergillosis, clasical signs in CT are usually absent. There is scant information on PCR and beta-D-glucan in children, and more limited on the performance of galactomannan enzyme immunoassay, that does not appear to be much different in neutropenic patients. There is a delay in the development of antifungals, limiting their use in children. Most azoles require therapeutic drug monitoring in children to optimize its safety and effectiveness. Pediatric treatment recommendations are mainly extrapolated from results of clinical trials performed in adults. There is no evidence for the benefit of preemptive therapy in children. It is necessary to foster specific pediatric studies with current and new antifungals to evaluate their pharmacokinetics, safety, and effectiveness at different ages in the pediatric population.