POSAGIL DISEASE
What is invasive fungal infection (IFI)?
It is a systemic, widespread, infiltrating and life-threatening fungal infection. Invasive fungal infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunodeficient individuals, such as stem cell transplant recipients or tumor patients undergoing immunosuppressive chemotherapy.
What is the incidence rate of invasive fungal infection?
The incidence and importance of IFIs is constantly increasing across the globe due to the increasing prevalence of immunosuppressive therapy and the widespread use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
IFIs are the fourth most common bloodstream infections in the world, and account for 10 percent of all nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections in intensive care units in Europe.
What are the risk factors for invasive fungal infection?
The three main risk groups of IFIs are Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) patients undergoing induction therapy, neutropenic allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients, and allogeneic stem cell transplant patients who develop Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD).
How is invasive fungal infection diagnosed?
IFIs are suspected in the presence of unexplained fever and respiratory conditions in patients in the risk group, and the diagnosis is confirmed using radiological imaging, galactomannan testing, blood culture and histopathological examination.
How is invasive fungal infection treated?
Prophylaxis, the administration of preventive antifungal agents to patients who display no signs or symptoms of infection but are at risk of IFI, plays an important role in the treatment of invasive fungal infection. Prophylactic use of antifungals (the primary prevention of invasive yeast/mold infections) has more or less become standard practice of care in neutropenic cancer patients and stem cell transplant recipients.
In empirical treatment, treatment is started without microbiological diagnosis, while in preemptive treatment the treatment is initiated in a neutropenic patient with definitive clinical or laboratory findings.
Refractory IFI treatment, on the other hand, is specifically applied to patient groups who do not respond to antifungal treatment. All of the above mentioned treatments make use of specialized medicines called antifungals, which treat fungal infections by eliminating or stopping the growth of fungi.
FUARTE DISEASE
What is iron overload?
Iron is both necessary to the body and potentially toxic, and as such, controlling iron levels in the body is of critical importance. The human body it is equipped with a system that controls the absorption, transportation, usage and storage of iron. A dysfunction of this system may lead to iron deficiency or iron overload. The most important causes of iron overload are repeated blood transfusions (due to thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, aplastic anemia) and ineffective erythropoiesis.
What is the incidence rate of diseases causing iron overload?
Iron overload is most common in thalassemia patients. Thalassemias are inherited blood disorders that are most common in Southeast and South Asia, Mediterranean countries, Middle East, and North and Central Africa. Global thalassemia incidence rate is 4.4 per 10,000 live births. According to Turkish Society of Hematology data, there are around 1.3 million thalassemia carriers and around 4,500 thalassemia patients in Turkey.
How is iron overload diagnosed?
The most common indirect method for estimating body iron stores is serum ferritin measurement. Direct measurements can be accomplished via liver biopsy. Tissue iron levels can be monitored and measured via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a supraconducting quantum interface device (SQUID).
How is iron overload treated?
Iron chelation therapy is used to remove excess iron from the body. Regular and long-term use of chelation agents has increased quality of life and life expectancy of patients with thalassemia or iron overload.
