Copyright © American Burn Association. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
1
Patients with severe burns (>60% of the TBSA) bear
a high risk of developing invasive burn wound infec-
tions that can lead to generalized sepsis, multiorgan
dysfunction, and, eventually, death. According to a
recent epidemiological study, sepsis is responsible for
75% of all deaths after burn trauma.
1
Invasive asper-
gillosis primarily occurs in the lungs of immunocom-
promised patients, from where it may disseminate
into other tissues.
2,3
Less commonly, invasive asper-
gillosis may be found in mildly immunocompro-
mised patients, such as corticosteroid-treated chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease patients and surgical
patients, including surgically treated burn victims.
4–6
Definitive diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis usually
requires both histological evidence and positive cul-
tures of Aspergillus fumigatus.
7
The recent advent of
galactomannan antigen assay has permitted a more
efficient diagnosis of aspergillosis.
7,8
Voriconazole,
a second-generation triazole, has greatly improved
the treatment of invasive aspergillosis.
3
Owing to
its improved efficacy and reduced toxicity, voricon-
azole is currently the drug of choice over ampho-
tericin B.
3,9,10
Despite recent advances in developing
combination antifungal therapies, the survival rates
of refractory cases of invasive aspergillosis are quite
low.
11
In addition, an increased incidence of fungal
infections has been observed among severely burned
patients,
12,13
with Aspergillus infections resulting in
particularly high morbidity and mortality rates up to
33%.
5,6,14
This increase may be linked to the focused
management of bacterial burn wound infections with
topical and systemic antibacterial agents.
12,13
Here,
we describe the feasibility of treating successfully an
invasive A. fumigatus deep-burn wound infection in
a patient with 80% full-thickness TBSA burn with a
combination of topical terbinafine and systemic vori-
conazole administration.
Case Report
A 33-year-old man weighing 74.8 kg was admit-
ted 1 hour after an accidental blast for 92% TBSA
(80% full-thickness) burns and inhalation syndrome.
On admission, escharotomies were required on the
patient’s neck, thorax, abdomen, upper, and lower
limbs. Initial resuscitation resulted in acute abdomi-
nal compartment syndrome, which required same-
day laparotomy. Rhabdomyolysis and acute renal
failure, linked to the severity of the shock, necessitated
long-lasting continuous renal replacement therapy.
After the initial resuscitation phase, hydrotherapy
Copyright © 2014 by the American Burn Association
1559-047X/2014
DOI: 10.1097/BCR.0000000000000143
We describe an invasive Aspergillus fumigatus deep-burn wound infection in a
severely burned patient that was successfully treated with a combination of topical
terbinafine and systemic voriconazole antifungal therapy. To our knowledge, this
is the first case report describing the effective control of an invasive deep-burn
wound infection using this combination. (J Burn Care Res 2014;XXX:00–00)
From the *Service of Pharmacy, ‡Service of Intensive Care Medi-
cine, §Service of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, ║Institute
of Microbiology, ¶Service of Infectious Diseases, and #Service of
Pathology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and Uni-
versity of Lausanne, Switzerland; **Centre des Brûlés, Centre
Hospitalier St. Joseph et St Luc, Lyon, France; and †School of
Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, University of
Lausanne.
Address correspondence to Yok-Ai Que, MD, PhD, Service of
Intensive Care Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire
Vaudois and University of Lausanne, BH08-624, 1011,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Effective Treatment of Invasive Aspergillus fumigatus
Infection Using Combinations of Topical and
Systemic Antifungals in a Severely Burned Patient
Anne Fournier,*† Olivier Pantet,‡ Samia Guerid,§ Philippe Eggimann,‡
Jean-Luc Pagani,‡ Jean-Pierre Revelly,‡ Philippe M. Hauser,║ Oscar Marchetti,¶
Sara Fontanella,# Igor Letovanec,#, François Ravat,** Mette M. Berger,‡
André Pannatier,† Pierre Voirol,*† Yok-Ai Que, MD, PhD‡
CASE REPORT