Table 1 Baseline characteristics, underlying conditions, laboratory values and outcome of critically ill patients with Aspergillus-positive culture in respiratory tract samples (PAC group) and only positive galactomannan without Aspergillus growth in the BALF (OPG group)
All patients | PAC group | OPG group | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Variable | (n = 85) | (n = 43) | (n = 42) | |
Male sex, n (%) | 61 (71.8) | 32 (74.4) | 29 (69.0) | 0.582 |
Age, years, median (IQR) | 62 (52–72) | 59 (51–76) | 63 (53–71) | 0.827 |
Body mass index, weight (kg)/height (m2), median (IQR) | 25 (22–27) | 25 (21–27) | 24 (22–27) | 0.853 |
ICU score, median (IQR) | ||||
SOFA | 8 (5–10) | 9 (5–11) | 7 (5–10) | 0.427 |
SAPS II | 45 (36–55) | 45 (35–57) | 45 (37–54) | 0.758 |
APACHE II | 20 (17–25) | 18 (16–25) | 22 (17–25) | 0.176 |
Underlying conditions, n (%) | ||||
Neutropenia | 6 (7.1) | 0 | 6 (14.3) | 0.012 |
Hematological malignancy | 21 (24.7) | 7 (16.3) | 14 (33.3) | 0.068 |
Chemotherapy | 30 (35.3) | 10 (23.3) | 20 (47.6) | 0.019 |
Oncological malignancy | 24 (28.2) | 12 (28.6) | 12 (27.9) | 0.946 |
Allogeneic stem cell transplantation | 11 (12.9) | 4 (9.3) | 7 (16.7) | 0.351 |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 13 (15.3) | 6 (14) | 7 (16.7) | 0.728 |
HIV infection | 3 (3.5) | 0 | 3 (7) | 0.241 |
Liver cirrhosis | 7 (8.2) | 5 (11.6) | 2 (4.8) | 0.433 |
Diabetes mellitus | 9 (10.6) | 7 (16.3) | 2 (4.8) | 0.084 |
Renal insufficiency | 25 (29.4) | 13 (30.2) | 12 (27.9) | 0.867 |
Solid organ transplant | 10 (11.8) | 4 (9.3) | 6 (14.3) | 0.520 |
Patients without classic risk factorsa n (%) | 31 (36.5) | 18 (41.9) | 13 (31) | 0.296 |
Treatment on ICU | ||||
ICU stay before first positive Aspergillus result, days, median (IQR) | 4 (1–11) | 7 (2–14) | 3 (1–5) | 0.007 |
ICU length of stay, days, median (IQR) | 22 (13–41) | 30 (17–51) | 16 (10–25) | 0.016 |
Invasive ventilation, n (%) | 72 (84.7) | 40 (93) | 32 (76.2) | 0.038 |
Invasive ventilation before first positive Aspergillus result, days, median (IQR) | 1 (0–5) | 3 (0–10) | 1 (0–2) | 0.005 |
Invasive ventilation, days, median (IQR) | 10 (4–30) | 19 (8–40) | 7 (1–18) | 0.003 |
Non-invasive ventilation before first positive Aspergillus result, days (IQR) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 0.211 |
Non-invasive ventilation, days (IQR) | 1 (0–4) | 0 (0–2) | 2 (0–5) | 0.121 |
ECMO use, n (%) | 12 (14.1) | 5 (11.6) | 7 (16.7) | 0.549 |
ECMO, days, median (IQR) | 13 (11–19) | 20 (11–24) | 12 (6–14) | 0.074 |
Renal replacement therapy before first positive Aspergillus result, n (%) | 23 (27.1) | 16 (37.2) | 7 (16.7) | 0.033 |
Renal replacement therapy after first positive Aspergillus result, n (%) | 41 (48.2) | 26 (60.5) | 15 (35.7) | 0.022 |
Antibiotic treatment, n (%) | 85 (100) | 43 (100) | 42 (100) | |
Immunosuppressionb, n (%) | 50 (58.8) | 29 (67.4) | 21 (50) | 0.102 |
Corticosteroid use, n (%) | ||||
Prednisolone ≥ 20 mg/day or equivalent | 46 (54.1) | 26 (60.5) | 20 (47.6) | 0.235 |
Prednisolone ≥ 20 mg/day or equivalent for more than 3 weeks | 12 (14.1) | 7 (16.3) | 5 (11.9) | 0.757 |
Inflammatory markers, median (IQR) | ||||
White blood cell count, 109/L | 12 (7–17) | 11 (9–17) | 13 (5–17) | 0.549 |
Procalcitonin, μg/l | 2 (1–5) | 1 (0–4) | 2 (1–9) | 0.138 |
CRP, mg/dl | 145 (62–234) | 131 (62–239) | 159 (43–232) | 0.683 |
Mortality, n (%) | ||||
28-day mortality | 33 (38.8) | 14 (32.6) | 19 (45.2) | 0.230 |
180-day mortality | 50 (58.8) | 25 (58.1) | 25 (59.5) | 1.000 |