Invasive fungal infections in patients with hematological malignancies at the University Hospital of Reunion Island (2018-2022): an observational study

Abstract Invasive fungal infections are a serious complication for hematology patients. However, there is no study on this subject in Reunion Island. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of invasive fungal infections in patients with hematological malignancies at the University Hospital of Reunion Island. We conducted a descriptive and ambispective study. We included any patient with hematological malignancy presenting with a putative, possible, probable or proven invasive fungal infection, defined as per the criteria of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group 2019, from January 2018 to December 2022. Data was collected from medical records and identified by ICD-10 coding and laboratory data. Eighty-nine invasive fungal infections were diagnosed in 76 patients. The five-year-incidence rate of invasive fungal infections was 1.7 per 100 person-years (95% CI 1.3-2). Invasive aspergillosis was the most common infection (35/89, 39%), followed by invasive candidiasis (33/89, 37%), mucormycosis (7/89, 8%) and pneumocystosis (7/89, 8%). Most infections occurred in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (32/89, 36%) and lymphoma (26/89, 29%). Six months-mortality was higher for mucormycosis (71%) than for aspergillosis (34%) and invasive candidiasis (33%). The incidence and distribution of fungal infections in hematology patients was similar to European cohorts, albeit with more mucormycosis, less pneumocystis and a high proportion of C. parapsilosis in candidemia.