Influenza-associated Aspergillosis in Critically Ill Patients

Abstract

<i>To the Editor:</i><br/>Invasive aspergillosis is a well-known complication in immunocompromised patients but may also develop in patients with influenza pneumonia. The largest reported series included nine cases of invasive aspergillosis among 40 critically ill patients with influenza A H1N1 infection (23%) over a period of 3 years in two centers (1). Influenza-associated aspergillosis (IAA) may develop in immunocompromised patients (1, 2), but it has also been reported in apparently immunocompetent patients and was associated with the use of corticosteroids (1, 3, 4). Review of all 68 cases with IAA reported during the last 60 years indicated an overall mortality rate of 47% (5).<br/><br/>We conducted a multicenter retrospective observational study involving all eight academic tertiary care intensive care units (ICUs) in the Netherlands from December 2015 to April 2016, aimed at describing the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of IAA in adults. All data were processed anonymously, and the ethics committee waived informed consent.<br/>[...]<br/>