Critical overview of clinical guidelines relating to invasive fungal infections

The incidence of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) has continued to grow in recent years. IFIs are associated with significant morbidity and mortality as well as costs. The diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to IFI have changed significantly in recent years, fostered by the introduction of new diagnostic methods and new antifungal products. There are also new therapeutic approaches such as de-escalation, pre-emptive antifungal treatment or combined treatment with antifungals. All of these aspects have been described in many trials, meta-analyses and reviews. There are also different clinical guidelines for IFIs with diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations. They are of unquestionable value and at the same time represent different perspectives on the problem. The lack of homogeneity when selecting and drafting the recommendations is a problem, and some of them are based more on personal opinion than on evidence. In this paper, we have put together a critical overview of the role of guidelines for IFIs, with emphasis on non-neutropenic critical patients.