Background: Invasive fungal disease (IFD) due to filamentous fungi is increasingly common.
Aim: To study the epidemiology of EFI in hospitalized adults in our center.
Methods: Retrospective study of adult patients of a university hospital in Santiago, Chile, with EFI due to filamentous fungi between January 2005 and December 2015.
Results: 125 episodes were identified, being 48% proven, 40% probable and 11% possible according to EORTC/MSG criteria, overall incidence was 0.47/1,000 admissions, 57% male patients and age 50 ± 16 years. 66.4% had hematological pathology, 11.2% solid organ transplant, 11.2% rheumatology diseases, 11.2% other conditions. The risk factors were neutropenia 44%, corticosteroid therapy 21%, immunosuppressants 13%. The most frequent mould identified were Aspergillus spp (53.6%), Mucorales (16%), Fusarium spp (8.8%), Alternaria spp (5.6%) and other filamentous (3.2%). All received antifungals, 82% monotherapy, 18% combined therapy, there was surgical defocation in 90% of mucormycosis. The overall mortality was 42%. When comparing 2005-2009 vs 2010-2015, there was a significant increase in incidence and a tendency to lower mortality in the second period.
Conclusions: Over a period of 10 years, we observed an increase in the incidence of EFI by filamentous, aspergillosis was the most frequent etiology and the overall mortality was 42%.