Clinical epidemiology of 960 patients with invasive aspergillosis from the PATH Alliance registry

SummaryObjectivesThe study investigated the epidemiology and outcome of invasive aspergillosis (IA), an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients.MethodsCases of proven/probable IA from the Prospective Antifungal Therapy Alliance (PATH Alliance®) registry – a prospective surveillance network comprising 25 centers in the United States and Canada that collected data on invasive fungal infections from 2004 to 2008 – were analyzed with respect to clinical outcome.ResultsNine hundred and sixty patients with IA were enrolled, the most frequent underlying disease being hematologic malignancy (n = 464 [48.3%]). Two hundred and eighty patients (29.2%) received solid organ transplant; 268 patients (27.9%) underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Identified isolates included Aspergillus fumigatus (72.6%), Aspergillus flavus (9.9%), Aspergillus niger (8.7%) and Aspergillus terreus (4.3%). The lung was most frequently affected. Following diagnosis, 47% patients received monotherapy – voriconazole (70%), an amphotericin B formulation (13.8%), or an echinocandin (10.5%) – while 279 patients (29%) received combination therapy. Twelve-week overall survival was 64.4%.ConclusionsIn this series of patients with IA, the lung was the predominant focus of infection, A. fumigatus was the major species isolated, and overall survival appeared slightly improved compared with previous reports.