JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC INFECTION, cilt.3, sa.3, ss.118-125, 2009 (ESCI)
Aspergillus species are widespread in nature. They cause three different diseases, including invasive disease, non-invasive disease and hypersensitivity syndromes. Although they have many species, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus are mainly responsible for human infections. Invasive infections in the immunocompromised patients cause particularly high mortality. Persistent fever not responding to antibiotics is usually the first clinical finding. The diagnosis can be established by the isolation of the fungus in culture, the demonstration of typical hyphea in the tissue samples, or serological tests. Amphotericin B, itraconazole, and flucytosine are the most commonly used drugs for the therapy. New drugs such as caspofungin and voriconazole are promising for the treatment of the pediatric patients.