Arthrographis Infections in Humans-A Narrative Review

Arthrographis spp. are environmental fungi commonly found in soil and compost. Infections caused by Arthrographis species remain an uncommon clinical occurrence. Although these infections are infrequent in the general population, their incidence appears to be elevated among immunocompromised patients or those with significant comorbidities.

This review seeks to examine all documented human cases of Arthrographis spp. infections, with particular focus on aspects such as epidemiology, microbiological features, resistance patterns, therapeutic approaches and associated mortality rates.

A narrative review was performed based on data obtained from the PubMed/MedLine and Scopus databases.

A total of 21 articles reported Arthrographis spp. infections in 21 patients. The mean age of affected individuals was 43.62 years, with 66.6% being male. A history of trauma was the most common predisposing factor, present in 33.33% of cases. Fever and abscess formation were the predominant clinical manifestations (28.6%), followed by organ dysfunction in 19% of patients. In vitro, the yeast generally showed susceptibility to voriconazole and itraconazole, with a low rate of resistance to amphotericin B. Clinically, amphotericin B was the most frequently administered antifungal (55%), followed by voriconazole (40%) and itraconazole (30%). The overall mortality rate was 19%, while deaths directly attributable to the infection accounted for 14.3%.

Due to the capacity of Arthrographis spp. to cause serious infections, it is important for healthcare providers to consider this organism when dimorphic yeast appears in biological specimens' cultures, especially in patients with immunosuppression or significant underlying conditions, to facilitate timely and accurate diagnosis.