No abstract

Invasive candidiasis (IC) bears a high risk of morbidity and mortality in the intensive care units (ICU). With the current advances in critical care and the use of widespectrum antibiotics, invasive fungal infections (IFIs) and IC in particular, have turned into a growing concern in the ICU. Further to blood cultures, some auxil- REVIEW 102November 4, 2014|Volume 3|Issue 4| WJCCM|www.wjgnet.com iary laboratory tests and biomarkers are developed to enable an earlier detection of infection, however these test are neither consistently available nor validated in our setting. On the other hand, patients' clinical status and local epidemiology data may justify the empiric antifungal approach using the proper antifungal option. The clinical approach to the management of IC in febrile, non-neutropenic critically ill patients has been defined in available international guidelines; nevertheless such recommendations need to be customized when applied to our local practice. Over the past three years, Iranian experts from intensive care and infectious diseases disciplines have tried to draw a consensus on the management of IFI with a particular focus on IC in the ICU. The established IFI-clinical forum (IFI-CF), comprising the scientific leaders in the field, has recently come up with and updated recommendation on the same (June 2014). The purpose of this review is to put together literature insights and Iranian experts' opinion at the IFI-CF, to propose an updated practical overview on recommended approaches for the management of IC in the ICU. Core tip: The present consensus statement has attempted to summarize the practical highlights regarding the management of Invasive Candidiasis (IC) in critical care setting. This easy-to-follow clinical pathway is expected to be not only of interest but also of clinical use for those who deal with the management of invasive fungal infections in hospital setting and especially the intensive care units. The focus of this paper is the concept of timely management of IC in critically ill patients.

Background:Meningioma constitutes 20% of the intracranial neoplasms. Followed by surgery as the primary treatment for most patients, radiotherapy becomes indicated in high-grade tumors with incomplete surgical removal. We evaluated the prognostic factors and overall outcome in meningioma patients who underwent radiotherapy.Materials and Methods:In this retrospective analysis, data from all patients with documented diagnosis of meningioma who referred to the Omid and Ghaem Oncology Centers (Mashhad, Iran) from 2002 to 2013 were included. We calculated the overall survival rates using the Kaplan–Meier method and compared the survival curves between groups by the log-rank test.Results:Eighty-three patients with a median age of 50 years (ranging: 16–84) were included. Grade I, II, and III meningiomas were seen in 40 (48%), 31 (37%), and 12 (15%) patients, respectively. Radiation therapy was indicated due to tumor recurrence, incomplete excision, or tumor grade in 32, 8, and 43 patients, respectively. Tumor grade had a significant effect on the overall survival with a 3-year overall survival of 76.7%, 43.5%, and 13.3% in Grade I, II, and III, respectively (P < 0.001). Gender, age, and tumor location were not correlated with the overall survival. Moreover, patients with Grade II and III who underwent total resection had a significantly higher overall survival than those with subtotal resection or biopsy alone (5-year survival rates of 82% vs. 17.1%, respectively; P = 0.008).Conclusion:Tumor grade was the most important prognostic factor in meningioma patients undergoing radiation therapy. In patients with Grade II and III tumors, the extent of surgical resection is significantly correlated with the overall survival.

No abstract