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Abstract

Background: Aspergillus is a ubiquitous soil-dwelling fungus known to cause significant pulmonary infection in immunocompromised patients. The incidence of aspergillosis has increased during the past two decades and is a frequently lethal complication of acute leukemia patients that occurs following both chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. The diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) according to the criteria that are established by European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer and Mycoses Study Group raise difficulties in severely ill patients. Despite established improvements in field of diagnosis (galactomannan antigen, quantitative PCR, real-time PCR for Aspergillus spp., and findings of computed tomography) and treatment with new antifungals, it is still a major problem in patients with acute leukemia. However, prompt and effective treatment of IPA is crucial because most patients will need subsequent chemotherapy for underlying hematologic disease as soon as possible.

Investigating the Presence of Aspergillus fumigatus and A. flavus Using Galactomannan Enzyme Assay and TaqMan Real-Time PCR Technique

“…Precise and early diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) is necessary in the primary phase of infection in susceptible patients under chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, malignancy, and those taking long-term corticosteroid, and antibiotics. Nonetheless, it seems that culture has low sensitivity; therefore, an immunological molecular marker is required for early diagnosis of IA (2).…”