Invasive Fungal Infections Among Immunocompromised Patients in Critical Care Settings: Infection Prevention Risk Mitigation

Abstract

Most fungal infections are common in humans. Pathogenic fungi are opportunistic but can cause fungal infection disease in patients with immunocompromised conditions, such as malignancy, chemotherapy, transplantation, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and usage of immunosuppressant drugs. Most invasive infections are caused by Aspergillus species, mucormycetes, Cryptococcus species, and Candida species. This article focuses on environmental fungi such as Aspergillus species and mucormycetes because the mode of transmission is different. The purpose of this article is to discuss invasive fungal infections (IFIs) caused by environmental fungi and to educate critical care nurses about infection control and risk mitigation to prevent IFIs.

Keywords: Aspergillosis; Aspergillus species; Invasive fungal infections; Mucormycetes; Mucormycosis; Protective environments (PE); Zygomycetes.