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Flashcards in Infection & Immunity Nick Hadd Fungal Deck (34)
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0
Q

What is sepsis or septic shock?

A

Sepsis is the physiological response of the body to a systemic infection
Septic shock occurs when the circulatory system cannot supply the demands of the body.

1
Q

What does disseminated mean?

A

Disseminated: spread from the initial localised source of infection

2
Q

What is the process of septic shock leading to multi organ failure.

A

Inflammatory mediators in blood make the blood vessels more leaky, thus results in decreased blood pressure
Low blood pressure leads to hypoperfusion of organs (lack of blood supply) leads to multi organ failure

3
Q

What kinds are most prone to getting fungal infections?

A

Neutropenic patients I.e those receiving chemotherapy
Intensive care unit patients
Patients with central IV catheters
HIV and AIDs
Patients after a transplant who are on anti-rejection medication

4
Q

Neutropenia is a risk for both candida and aspergillus infection.
This is the same with steroids, graft vs host disease (GVHD), mucosal colonisation and bacterial infections.

A

Central intra venous lines and antibacterials are a risk of candida only
Building works are a risk of aspergillus only

5
Q

What are the main causative organisms of fungal infections?

A

Candida species
Aspergillus species
Cryptococcus species
Histoplasma capsulatum

6
Q

What type of fungus is candida? Where’s it found? What’s it diagnosed by?

A

It’s a yeast
Part of normal gut flora
Diagnosed by culturing

7
Q

What’s important to find out if a patient is found to have an infection with candida?

A

Any previous Azole therapy eg with fluconazole itraconazole etc
Also important to find out the species; albicans causes almost all muco-cutaneous infections

8
Q

What types of candidiasis are there?

A

Catheter related
Acute disseminated
Chronic disseminated
Deep organ candidiasis

9
Q

What type of fungus is aspergillus?

A

A mould

Common environmental pathogen

10
Q

What type of infection does aspergillus tend to cause?

A

Pulmonary infections
It’s opportunistic in immuno-compromised patients
May be found after lung transplants

11
Q

How can we diagnose aspergillus infections?

A

Imaging- fungus infections will usually show up in x-rays

Also by antibody detection

12
Q

Aspergillosis can be invasive, allergic, or saprophytic. What do these mean?

A

Invasive:
Includes disseminated. Means that it isn’t localised, it’s spread. Typically of lung origin
Allergic:
ABPA allergic broncho pulmonary aspergillosis
Saprophytic:
Aspergilloma ( a fungal ball) growth of this ball in a pre-existing cavity, eg a patient with previous TB

13
Q

What are the complications associated with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis?

A

Raging pneumonia
Dissemination (spread) into the CNS
Local invasion into heart/ vessels etc

14
Q

Cryptococcus is a yeast, what types of infection does it usually cause?

A

Invasive CNS disease

Pulmonary [not usually detected]

Especially seen in HIV and AIDS patients

15
Q

Histoplasmosis results from the environmental pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum. It traditionally causes _________ disease and further dissemination. Usually ______ patients more prone.

A

Causes pulmonary disease

Usually HIV and AIDs patients

16
Q

What’s the difference between invasive and disseminated infections?

A

Invasive means spreading, this may be locally or to wider parts of the body because of Dissemination or seeding
Dissemination means more widely spread. NOT local spreading

17
Q

What’s fungaemia?

A

A type of sepsis where fungi circulates the blood

18
Q

What are mannan/ anti-mannan, beta D glucan, galactomannan all examples of?!

A

Ways we can diagnose and decide when to treat fungal infections

19
Q

What’s the “proven” catergory diagnostics of fungal infections?

A

The exact cause of the fungus has been grown and cultured so doctors are certain what is causing it

20
Q

What is the “probable” catergory of fungal infection diagnostics?

A

Some uncertainty of what’s causing it, usually treated empirically

To meet criteria of probable: host factor, clinical features and mycological (fungal causing) evidence must be present.
“Possible” infections meet even less criteria than this

Definition of these levels of certainty differ from one organism to the next and between different types/ sites of infection

21
Q

To meet the criteria of probable fungal infection, one of the criteria is HOST factors, what’s this?

A

Included factors that the patient may have, eg
Neutropenia
Fever unresponsive to broad spectrum antibiotics
Use of immuno suppressants
HIV or AIDS
Recent long use of corticosteroids

22
Q

One “probable” diagnostic indicator is clinical features. What are these?

A

Mainly relevant imaging
Eg lesions seen in respiratory tract
Meningeal enhancement / Lesions in CNS

23
Q

Indirect tests such as galactomannan, and more direct tests involving microscopy, sensitivity and culture such as Sputum and NBL (squirt water into lungs, extract and then send sample to lab) samples are all part of the ________ criteria of fungal diagnostics

A

Mycological evidence

24
Q

Fungal infections are best treated with antibiotics. True or false?

A

False!
Antibiotics only treat bacteria!
Could be used as a diagnostic feature though; if a patient still has fever after using broad spectrum antibiotics this may indicate fungal infection

25
Q

Antifungals drugs have to be specific to target fungus and not our own cells, why is this more difficult with fungus than for bacteria?

A

Fungus are eukaryotic just like our own cells. So harder to target these specifically. Bacteria are prokaryotic

26
Q

What class of antifungals tend to work by inhibition of egosterol biosynthesis in the cell membrane?

A

Azoles
Eg the triazoles:
fluconazoles
Ketaconzaole

Or imidazoles

27
Q

What kind of antifungals tend to work by ergosterol disruption in the cell membrane?

A

Polyenes
Eg amphotericin B
Abelcet
AmBisome

28
Q

Which antifungal works by inhibiting DNA / RNA synthesis in the nucleus?

A

Flucytosine

29
Q

What is the triazoles mechanism of action INR fungus? What are their side effects

A

They decrease ergosterol production through inhibition of fungal cytochrome p450 enzymes. Most are static (I.e don’t kill but stops the fungi reproducing)

Orally taken
Side effects:
Hepatic effects
QT prolongation

30
Q

Why do triazoles commonly interact with other medication?

A

They inhibit fungal CYP450 enzymes, but may also inhibit human enzymes too

31
Q

What’s the best treatment for simple infections?

A

Fluconazole

Use where Candida albicans has been confirmed and the patient has had no previous azole therapy

32
Q

What’s best to use as treatment for most ‘serious’ infections?

A

Lipid formulation amphoterocin

Or echinicandin

33
Q

What should we consider to use for CNS infections?

A

Voriconazole

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