Active clinical trials for "Aspergillosis"

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic potential of biomarkers for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in exhaled breath condensate.

Invasive Aspergillosis (IA) is a very serious fungal infection. Hematological patients are the most affected group. IA has a very high morbimortality due to its rapid progression and because it is very difficult to be early diagnosed. Diagnosis is used to be done too late or even post-mortem. They are two new methods (techniques) trying to make the diagnosis on an early stage: detection of Galactomannan antigen of Aspergillus species and real - time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of its DNA in blood. IA in immunocompromised patients is mainly located in lungs, so our hypothesis is that in patients where the investigators suspect IA the investigators should find earlier Galactomannan antigen or real -time PCR of Aspergillus in respiratory samples such as bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and its detection could be useful for diagnosis. Objectives: To detect Galactomannan Antigen and Real Time - PCR for Aspergillus DNA in bronchoalveolar lavage. To validate the routine utility of these tests in BAL as a diagnostic method of IA and investigate if Galactomannan Antigen and Real Time - PCR for Aspergillus DNA in bronchoalveolar lavage can optimize blood test sensibility. Methods: Prospective study. The investigators will include 200 patients. 100 of them will be hematological patients, neutropenic and at high risk to develop an IA. The other 100 will be patients without risk or no suspicion at all of IA. The investigators will perform a BAL in all patients. And blood detection of Galactomannan Antigen in hematological patients. The investigators will perform a standard microbiological culture of BAL and Galactomannan Antigen in both samples (bronchoalveolar lavage and blood). The investigators also will carry out Real Time - PCR for Aspergillus DNA detection in bronchoalveolar lavage. Expected results: To detect Galactomannan Antigen and Real Time - PCR for Aspergillus DNA in BAL with more specificity and making earlier diagnosis than in blood. The investigators also expect to implant these techniques in BAL in the routine for IA diagnosis in neutropenic patients.

Fungal infections in immunocompromised patients occuring during construction activities in hospitals have repeatedly been reported. However, the question of a causal relation between construction activities and infections has never been addressed systematically and prospectively. To answer this question, we will monitor our immunosuppressed patients' health status, as well as fine dust and aspergillus spore contents in the air during a three year construction activity period in our hospital.

This study aims to assess the value of TARC in diagnosis of allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis.

COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) is considered a potentially life-threatening infection in critically ill COVID (Corona Virus disease)-19 patients. This study will investigate the efficacy of mold-active prophylaxis with posaconazole for patients with severe SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)-CoV-2 infection admitted to the ICU (intensive care unit) in a multi-center case-control study in Europe.

The investigators hypothesize that early galactomannan and beta-D-glucan features, namely the height of the initial value at the time of diagnosis and the subsequent rate of marker decay within the first week(s) following therapy (day 7, day 14) are important factors in predicting clinical outcome.

Aspergillus-specific IgG assays for the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA)

The incidence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is increasing in all parts of the world. Despite introduction of new antifungal agents for prophylaxis and treatment of IPA in the last decade, the outcome of patients with IPA is still unsatisfactory and needs improvement. Particularly, recent developments in diagnostic imaging, including introduction of high-resolution computed tomography (CT) into standard procedures, made a place for improvement of diagnosis of IPA. Computed tomography of the chest is the optimal, recommended imaging procedure for diagnosis of pneumonia in febrile neutropenic patients and it is significantly superior to conventional chest X-ray. However, the method is associated with some difficulties mostly due to the broad spectrum of pathological findings in patients with IPA and their evolution over time. This has been described in retrospective studies on relatively small groups of patients. Prospective studies on larger populations are still missing, as well as studies on combination of different diagnostic modalities e.g. diagnostic imaging and microbiology. We recently published the results of the clinical trial: "A Phase II Dose Escalation Study of Caspofungin in Patients with Invasive Aspergillosis" which used caspofungin doses of 70 to 200 mg daily for the first line treatment of IPA. The maximum tolerated dose was not reached, but response rates were impressive with complete plus partial responses accounting for 54.3% and overall mortality at 12-week follow-up as low as 28.3%. There was a tendency towards higher doses yielding higher response rates. For the majority of these patients we obtained serial chest CT. So, for the first time a patient population is at hand, in which the kinetics of infiltrates over time can be described. The main objective is to describe the pathological findings in chest CT performed sequentially in IPA patients while receiving effective antifungal therapy. The specific objectives are: Characteristics of pathological findings in sequential chest CTs To describe the pathological findings (e.g. halo sign, air crescent sign and air consolidation) in sequential high resolution computed tomogrphy (HRCT) examinations To calculate the incidence of individual pathological findings in sequential CT examinations To calculate a total volume of fungal infiltrates in sequential CT examinations Correlation of pathological findings in sequential CT with corresponding white blood count (WBC) and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) To correlate the appearance or disappearance of individual pathological findings with WBC and ANC To correlate the volume of fungal infiltrates in sequential CT examinations with WBC and absolute neutrophil count Correlation of pathological findings in sequential CT with the serum galactomannan index To correlate the appearance or disappearance of individual pathological findings with the serum galactomannan index To correlate the volume of fungal infiltrates in sequential HRCT examinations with the serum galactomannan index Correlation of pathological findings in sequential HRCT with outcome of IFI To correlate the appearance or disappearance of individual pathological findings with outcome of IFI To correlate the volume of fungal infiltrates in sequential HRCT examinations with outcome of IFI

Primary objectives: To investigate the prevalence of azole resistance in Aspergillus clinical isolates collected in participating hospitals in Taiwan To investigate the prevalence of azole resistance in Aspergillus environmental isolates in Taiwan To characterize the molecular mechanisms of azole resistance in Aspergillus isolates in Taiwan To investigate the clonality of Aspergillus clinical and environmental isolates in Taiwan To describe the genetic relationships between local resistant strains with global strains Secondary objective: To describe the clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of patients with proven or probable invasive aspergillosis To evaluate the clinical impact of azole resistance in patients with proven or probable invasive aspergillosis in a case-control study

This is a non-interventional medical chart review study aiming to examine the effectiveness, safety, and treatment patterns of isavuconazole in 5 European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom). Eligible patients are adults who have been treated with isavuconazole in routine practice at participating sites since 15 October, 2015 or since the date of launch in the country if it is after 15 October, 2015 until 30 June, 2019. As this is an observational study, patients will be treated based on the standard of care at the discretion of their physician. No drugs will be supplied for this study and patients will receive treatment through standard local practice.