Epidemiology of digestive tract mycoses in immunocompromised hosts. A review

Systemic fungal infections are diseases of increasing incidence in immunocompromised patients. They are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with severe granulocytopenia caused by hematological malignancies or high-dose corticosteroid treatments. Systemic candidiasis is usually attributed to colonization of the patient's digestive mucosa or central venous/peritoneal catheters by endogenous Candida spp. Esophageal candidiasis can be a serious problem in predisposed individuals, and it can be the first opportunistic infection suggesting overt AIDS in HIV-seropositive patients. The aim of this review is to assess the epidemiology of alimentary tract mycoses in "at risk" groups because of iatrogenous or pathological reasons, such as in-patients undergoing solid organ and bone marrow transplantation, peritoneal dialysis and enteral/parenteral nutrition and in HIV infected patients.