A systematic review and disability‐adjusted life years of Scedosporium/Lomentospora infection in patients after near‐drowning

Abstract Scedosporium / Lomentospora species exist as saprophytic moulds that can potentially lead to serious infections in patients who have experienced near‐drowning incidents. Scedosporium species are distributed across different regions of the world while Lomentospora prolificans has quite a restricted geographic distribution. We aimed to systematically review scedosporiosis cases after near‐drowning, their clinical manifestations, underlying diseases, treatments, outcomes and its impact through disability‐adjusted life years (DALYs). Five available sources were searched from 1 January 2007, to 20 April 2022. Thirty‐eight studies, including 41 patients, were evaluated. Mean age was 33.6 ± 18.6 years (range 1–68), and 28 were male (68.3%). Central nervous system (CNS) dissemination predominated (36/41; 87.8%), presenting mainly as multiple brain abscesses (26/41; 63.4%), followed by lung involvement (22/41; 56.4%). Scedosporium apiospermum species complex was the most causative agent (38/41; 92.7%). Overall mortality was 51.2%. Half of the patients (18/37) were cured after receiving proper treatment, and in most cases, voriconazole alone or in combination with surgery or other antifungals caused survival. The mean survival time was 123 ± 27 days. Mean DALYs in 1980–2022 were 46.110 ± 3.318 (39.607–52.612). Time to diagnosis was estimated to be 120 days, and there was no association between time to diagnosis and outcome. Voriconazole is a potentially effective therapy, and combination of surgery and antifungal treatment may lead to more favourable outcome. Advances in early diagnosis and appropriate antifungal therapy may have contributed to reducing its mortality.