Resumen

SEGALES CAMACHO, Antonio Ariel. INVASIVE FUNGAL INFECTION IN PATIENTS ADMITTED TO CRITICAL CARE AREAS. Rev. Méd. La Paz [online]. 2024, vol.30, n.1, pp.81-87.  Epub 30-Jun-2024. ISSN 1726-8958.

Invasive fungal infections are common in immunosuppressed patients and in those admitted to critical care areas; these infections cause high morbidity and mortality. Fungi are a heterogeneous group of eukaryotic microorganisms that interact with humans. As a result, a wide spectrum of situations can occur, ranging from eradication of the fungus to death of the person. The most common species is Candida albicans. Most grow in the form of yeast, but some species can form pseudohyphae and produce different virulence factors, such as adhesins and secreted aspartic proteinases. They allow the microorganism to adhere to both human tissues and prosthetic devices in addition to causing tissue injury, thus favoring invasion at the site of infection respectively. Many factors are necessary such as the use of corticosteroids, antibiotics, disruption of natural barriers in addition to various comorbidities such as chronic kidney failure, liver disease, chronic and acute necrohemorrhagic pancreatitis that contribute to infection by this fungus. In addition to conventional culture media that can take 48 hours or more to obtain results, there are currently new diagnostic tools that can reduce the diagnosis time to just a few hours in the patients in whom Candida sp infection is suspected, among the most studied are the detection of fungal antigens in blood, nucleic acid amplification methods and clinical prediction indices. Early diagnosis, timely and appropriate antifungal treatment determine the survival of patients.

Palabras clave : Fungus; infection; critical care.

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