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Progress in the Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Disease in Children

Adilia Warris1, Thomas Lehrnbecher2

  • 1Aberdeen Fungal Group, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD UK.

Current Fungal Infection Reports
|July 7, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Fungal diagnostic tests for children are limited. While galactomannan and fungal PCR assays can help rule out invasive fungal disease (IFD), more research is needed for other tests and in diverse pediatric populations.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases
  • Mycology
  • Diagnostic Microbiology

Background:

  • Invasive fungal disease (IFD) poses a significant threat to high-risk pediatric patients.
  • Accurate and timely diagnosis of IFD in children is crucial for effective management.
  • Current diagnostic tools require further evaluation for their utility in pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review available fungal diagnostic measures for pediatric patients at high risk for or suspected of having IFD.
  • To describe the clinical utility and performance of these tests in specific pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of existing literature on fungal diagnostic tests in children.
  • Analysis of reported performance data for individual tests.
  • Assessment of test utility based on pediatric population characteristics and study objectives.

Main Results:

  • Studies evaluating fungal diagnostics in pediatric populations are scarce and highly heterogeneous.
  • Galactomannan and fungal PCR assays demonstrate utility in excluding IFD.
  • The benefit of mannan, mannan antibodies, and β-D-glucan assays remains unclear due to limited studies or lack of validated cut-offs.

Conclusions:

  • A comprehensive evaluation of pediatric fungal diagnostic tools is currently limited.
  • Galactomannan and fungal PCR are valuable for ruling out IFD in children.
  • Well-designed, multicenter pediatric studies are essential to improve IFD outcomes.
Abstract

Keywords:
DiagnosticsGalactomannanImagingInvasive fungal diseasePCRPaediatric patients

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