The role of mycoses in intrabdominal infections

In the last few years, there has been a continuous, marked increase in serious mycotic infections, with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality especially among patients undergoing surgery in Intensive Therapy Units. Many risk factors are associated with the development of mycotic infections, amongst which the following may be highlighted: immunosuppression, protracted antibiotic treatment, long NPT, serious trauma, central venous catheterization and, in critical patients, a high APACHE II score. Mycotic peritonitis, an increasingly rare complication found in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, seems to be linked to gastric or duodenal perforations treated late (> 24 h) or to secondary, chiefly post-operative peritonitis, in the case of anastomotic dehiscences or fistules, and more generally in surgical patients in unstable conditions, i.e. those with severe acute pancreatitis and cirrhotic imbalances. In the absence of clear clinical signs of mycotic infection, diagnosis is based on the positivity of the culture test carried out in all explorable sites (expectorate, urine, blood, drainage, ascites, intrabdominal sampling), while positivity of haemoculture alone is a real dilemma for the clinician as it may be the result of transitory fungemia or a widespread infection. As yet, there is no reliable diagnostic test, though histopathology, the general signs of sepsis and positive culture in normally sterile sites are used to provide clear indications. Until recently, most patients with intrabdominal infections were not treated with general antimycotics, both because of the relatively low probability of developing a systemic infection and the feared toxicity of amphotericine B. Nowadays, this wait-and-see approach has been discarded, such that high-risk patients are recommended early empirical antimycotic treatment or even prophylaxis. The choice of antimycotic agent, dosage and duration of therapy depends on the aetiologic agent isolated, on the source of infection, renal functionality and associated pathologies. In conclusion, while the incidence of serious mycotic infection has sharply increased, an appropriate therapeutic strategy has not yet been definitively identified, due both to the lack of numerically significant clinical studies and especially the extreme variability and complexity of patients to be treated.