Research Keyword: beta-D-glucan

Diagnostic Approaches to Invasive Candidiasis: Challenges and New Perspectives

Invasive candidiasis is a serious fungal infection affecting critically ill patients in hospitals. Current testing methods like blood cultures are slow and sometimes miss the infection. Researchers are developing faster diagnostic tests using DNA detection and biomarkers that can identify infections within hours instead of days, allowing doctors to start treatment sooner and save more lives.

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Photo Quiz: A cutaneous fungal infection with discordant biomarker results—a diagnostic challenge

A woman with advanced HIV infection presented with skin sores and respiratory symptoms that were initially suspected to be a viral infection. Testing revealed she had histoplasmosis, a serious fungal infection caused by Histoplasma capsulatum that had spread throughout her body affecting her skin, lungs, and lymph nodes. While standard tests for this fungus were negative, other fungal markers and cultures eventually confirmed the diagnosis, and she was treated with antifungal medications.

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Endocarditis caused by Scopulariopsis brevicaulis with disseminated emboli and multiple vascular aneurysms: A case report and literature review

A 61-year-old man with a prosthetic aortic valve developed a rare fungal infection caused by Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, a mold usually associated with nail infections. The infection spread throughout his body, causing multiple strokes and aneurysms that required emergency surgery and treatment with various antifungal medications. This case highlights the serious complications that can occur when this typically harmless fungus invades the heart and demonstrates the challenges doctors face in treating such rare infections, as the fungus was resistant to many common antifungal drugs.

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