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Rapeport WG, Ito K, Denning DW. The role of antifungals in the management of patients with severe asthma. Clin Transl Allergy 2020; 10:46. [PMID: 33292524 PMCID: PMC7646070 DOI: 10.1186/s13601-020-00353-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In patients with asthma, the inhalation of elevated amounts of fungal spores and hyphae may precipitate the onset of asthma or worsen control to the extent of being life-threatening. Sensitisation to fungi, especially Aspergillus fumigatus, is found in 15% to 48% of asthmatics in secondary care and is linked to worse asthma control, hospitalisation, bronchiectasis and fixed airflow obstruction, irrespective of whether allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is diagnosed. ABPA represents a florid response to the presence of Aspergillus spp. but up to 70% of patients with severe asthma exhibit sensitisation to different fungi without meeting the diagnostic criteria for ABPA. The presence of persistent endobronchial colonisation with fungi, especially A. fumigatus, is linked to significantly higher rates of radiological abnormalities, lower post-bronchodilator FEV1 and significantly less reversibility to short acting bronchodilators. The therapeutic benefit for antifungal intervention in severe asthma is based on the assumption that reductions in airway fungal burden may result in improvements in asthma control, lung function and symptoms (especially cough). This contention is supported by several prospective studies which demonstrate the effectiveness of antifungals for the treatment of ABPA. Significantly, these studies confirm lower toxicity of treatment with azoles versus high dose oral corticosteroid dosing regimens for ABPA. Here we review recent evidence for the role of fungi in the progression of severe asthma and provide recommendations for the use of antifungal agents in patients with severe asthma, airways fungal infection (mycosis) and fungal colonisation. Documenting fungal airways colonisation and sensitisation in those with severe asthma opens up alternative therapy options of antifungal therapy, which may be particularly valuable in low resource settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Garth Rapeport
- Airways Disease, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, SW3 6LY, UK.
| | - Kazuhiro Ito
- Airways Disease, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, SW3 6LY, UK
- Pulmocide Ltd., 44 Southampton Building, London, WC2A 1AP, UK
| | - David W Denning
- Manchester Fungal Infection Group (MFIG), Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
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Li E, Knight JM, Wu Y, Luong A, Rodriguez A, Kheradmand F, Corry DB. Airway mycosis in allergic airway disease. Adv Immunol 2019; 142:85-140. [PMID: 31296304 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ai.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The allergic airway diseases, including chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), asthma, allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM) and many others, comprise a heterogeneous collection of inflammatory disorders affecting the upper and lower airways and lung parenchyma that represent the most common chronic diseases of humanity. In addition to their shared tissue tropism, the allergic airway diseases are characterized by a distinct pattern of inflammation involving the accumulation of eosinophils, type 2 macrophages, innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2), IgE-secreting B cells, and T helper type 2 (Th2) cells in airway tissues, and the prominent production of type 2 cytokines including interleukin (IL-) 33, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and many others. These factors and related inflammatory molecules induce characteristic remodeling and other changes of the airways that include goblet cell metaplasia, enhanced mucus secretion, smooth muscle hypertrophy, tissue swelling and polyp formation that account for the major clinical manifestations of nasal obstruction, headache, hyposmia, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, wheezing, and, in the most severe cases of lower airway disease, death due to respiratory failure or disseminated, systemic disease. The syndromic nature of the allergic airway diseases that now include many physiological variants or endotypes suggests that distinct endogenous or environmental factors underlie their expression. However, findings from different perspectives now collectively link these disorders to a single infectious source, the fungi, and a molecular pathogenesis that involves the local production of airway proteinases by these organisms. In this review, we discuss the evidence linking fungi and their proteinases to the surprisingly wide variety of chronic airway and systemic disorders and the immune pathogenesis of these conditions as they relate to environmental fungi. We further discuss the important implications these new findings have for the diagnosis and future therapy of these common conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan Li
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - J Morgan Knight
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Biology of Inflammation Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Yifan Wu
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Amber Luong
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Texas Health Science at Houston, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Antony Rodriguez
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Biology of Inflammation Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Michael E. DeBakey VA Center for Translational Research on Inflammatory Diseases, Houston, TX, United States
| | - Farrah Kheradmand
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Biology of Inflammation Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Michael E. DeBakey VA Center for Translational Research on Inflammatory Diseases, Houston, TX, United States
| | - David B Corry
- Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Department of Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Biology of Inflammation Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Michael E. DeBakey VA Center for Translational Research on Inflammatory Diseases, Houston, TX, United States.
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Jacobs SE, Saez-Lacy D, Wynkoop W, Walsh TJ. Successful Treatment of Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis With Isavuconazole: Case Report and Review of the Literature. Open Forum Infect Dis 2017; 4:ofx040. [PMID: 28491888 PMCID: PMC5419068 DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofx040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Accepted: 04/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Isavuconazole is a new triazole that is approved for primary therapy of invasive aspergillosis. We provide the first report of a patient with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) who was successfully treated with isavuconazole with marked improvement and minimal adverse effects. We further review the literature on antifungal management of ABPA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha E Jacobs
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
| | | | | | - Thomas J Walsh
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York
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Agarwal R, Sehgal IS, Dhooria S, Aggarwal AN. Developments in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Expert Rev Respir Med 2016; 10:1317-1334. [PMID: 27744712 DOI: 10.1080/17476348.2016.1249853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a complex pulmonary disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of wheezing, fleeting pulmonary opacities and bronchiectasis. It is the most prevalent of the Aspergillus disorders with an estimated five million cases worldwide. Despite six decades of research, the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of this condition remains controversial. The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology has formed a working group to resolve the controversies around this entity. In the year 2013, this group had proposed new criteria for diagnosis and staging, and suggested a treatment protocol for the management of this disorder. Since then, several pieces of new evidence have been published in the investigation and therapeutics of this condition. Areas covered: A non-systematic review of the available literature was performed. We summarize the current evidence in the evaluation and treatment of this enigmatic disorder. We suggest modifications to the existing criteria and propose a new scoring system for the diagnosis of ABPA. Expert commentary: All patients with asthma and cystic fibrosis should routinely be screened for ABPA using A. fumigatus-specific IgE levels. Glucocorticoids should be used as the first-line of therapy in ABPA, and itraconazole reserved in those with recurrent exacerbations and glucocorticoid-dependent disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ritesh Agarwal
- a Department of Pulmonary Medicine , Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) , Chandigarh , India
| | - Inderpaul S Sehgal
- a Department of Pulmonary Medicine , Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) , Chandigarh , India
| | - Sahajal Dhooria
- a Department of Pulmonary Medicine , Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) , Chandigarh , India
| | - Ashutosh N Aggarwal
- a Department of Pulmonary Medicine , Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) , Chandigarh , India
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Agarwal R. What is the current place of azoles in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and severe asthma with fungal sensitization. Expert Rev Respir Med 2013; 6:363-71. [PMID: 22971061 DOI: 10.1586/ers.12.35] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Evaluation of: Chishimba L, Niven RM, Cooley J, Denning DW. Voriconazole and posaconazole improve asthma severity in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and severe asthma with fungal sensitization. J. Asthma 49(4), 423-433 (2012). Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a pulmonary disorder caused by hypersensitivity to Aspergillus fumigatus that usually complicates the disease course of patients with asthma and cystic fibrosis. Oral corticosteroids are currently the treatment of choice for ABPA. Another active target is the use of azoles, which act by reducing the antigenic stimulus secondary to a decreased fungal burden. Studies suggest that itraconazole compared with placebo can improve symptoms in ABPA, decrease the immunological severity (IgE levels and total eosinophil counts), glucocorticoid requirement and the number of acute ABPA exacerbations. Severe asthma with fungal sensitization, a disorder closely related to ABPA, is a specific phenotype of asthma characterized by severe asthma and evidence of fungal sensitization after exclusion of ABPA. Again, oral itraconazole has been found to improve the quality of life in these steroid-dependent asthma patients. The current retrospective study evaluated the use of newer azoles (voriconazole and posaconazole) in adult asthmatic patients with either ABPA or severe asthma with fungal sensitization, and found the newer azoles to improve asthma control and reduce the severity of ABPA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ritesh Agarwal
- Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is an immunologically mediated lung disease that is caused by hypersensitivity to antigens of the genus Aspergillus. This review summarizes the clinical presentation, radiologic profile, lung functions and immunologic studies on allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis from India. Data regarding Aspergillus sensitization in asthmatics are presented. The association of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis with allergic Aspergillus sinusitis and aspergilloma is also highlighted. RECENT FINDINGS Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis is now an emerging disease in India. Sensitization to Aspergillus antigens is not uncommon in our patients with asthma. Although asthma commenced in these subjects in their early 20s, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis was recognized more than a decade later. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis can also occur in patients without clinical asthma. Radiology is crucial to the diagnosis of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. The remarkable radiological similarity to pulmonary tuberculosis has important clinical implications in our country as patients with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis often receive antituberculous therapy for a long time. Although oral corticosteroids still remain the cornerstone for management, itraconazole has emerged as an adjunct therapy in appropriate situations. Concomitant occurrence of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and allergic Aspergillus sinusitis is now being increasingly recognized. SUMMARY All asthmatic subjects with a positive skin prick test to Aspergillus antigens must be evaluated for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and allergic Aspergillus sinusitis should be excluded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashok Shah
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, Delhi, India.
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