Epidemiology and Mortality-Associated Factors of Invasive Fungal Disease in Elderly Patients: A 20-Year Retrospective Study from Southern China

Introduction: Invasive fungal disease (IFD) is a life-threatening infection. The epidemiology and clinical features of IFD in the elderly population are less discussed. The aim of this study was to explore the epidemiology and mortality-associated factors for IFD in the elderly inpatients.

Methods: A retrospective study enrolling 512 elderly inpatients from The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University during the last two decades was performed.

Results: The annual prevalence of IFD was 0.1-0.5%. Candidiasis was the most common (236/521, 45.3%). An increasing trend was observed in aspergillosis from 11.1% in year 1998 to 28.8% in year 2018. The common infective sites of candidiasis were abdominal cavity (83/236, 35.2%) and bloodstream (55/236, 23.3%). Invasive aspergillosis mainly developed in the sinus (74/149, 49.7%) and lung (65/149, 43.6%). Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) (59/126, 46.8%), solid organ malignancy (84/114, 73.7%), chronic kidney disease (CKD) (40/62, 64.5%) or receiving operation (109/147, 74.1%) were prone to develop candidiasis, while aspergillosis was usually complicated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (25/51, 49.0%). The all-cause mortality rate was 25.9% (135/521), and patients aged ≥80 years were the riskiest (20/51, 39.2%). Lymphopenia (59.5% vs 17.3%, P<0.001) was significant in deceased patients with mold infection. Higher proportion of non-survivors with invasive candidiasis received central venous catheterization (CVC) (68.4% vs 40.6%, P<0.001) or indwelling urinary catheter (68.4% vs 46.3%, P=0.001).

Conclusion: IFD is a life-threatening complication especially in the oldest-old. Surveillance on lymphopenia, prompt treatment and reduce invasive procedures could benefit the prognosis.