[3, 4] IPA accounts for 90–98% of invasive Aspergillus infections; however, extrapulmonary aspergillosis may be present in 25–60% of cases and is almost always caused by haematogenous spread of pulmonary foci. IA has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, making diagnosis challenging. In 2006, it has been reported that only a quarter of IA cases confirmed

by autopsy had been diagnosed premortem, which demonstrates that there is a lot to be done in terms of early diagnosis.[5, 6] Lewis and colleagues published an autopsy-based study in 2013 which showed that rates of premortem diagnosis of Aspergillus infections might have improved over the last decade. They analysed autopsy data from over 20 years and found that in the first 5 years of the study 84% of the invasive

fungal Trametinib purchase infections were diagnosed postmortem, while in the last 4 years this number decreased to 49%.[7] Most likely reasons for an ongoing increase of IA diagnosed premortem are the introduction of new diagnostic tools, such as Galactomannan or Lateral flow Device testing as well as improved culture methods.[3, 8-10] IA is still associated with mortality rates of about 40%. Early initiation of systemic antimould therapy remains the most important measure BIBW2992 cell line to reduce mortality.[11] Surgical debridement is an important therapeutic option mainly in cases of extrapulmonary IA. Evidence for surgical interventions exists primarily in localised infections of children and adults. In disseminated infections, the evidence for the benefit of surgical interventions other than for diagnostic purposes is poor. The main intentions for surgical interventions are: (i) to obtain material for diagnosis, (ii) to decrease the burden of infected tissue and (iii) to facilitate antifungal penetration. Surgical/invasive interventions are nearly always indicated only in combination with systemic

antifungal therapy. Naturally, there are no randomised or controlled clinical studies available on surgical interventions in IA, limiting the evidence Benzatropine to mostly uncontrolled single-centre case series (Table 1).[12] Here, we will review the role of surgical interventions in the treatment of different clinical manifestations of IA. Cerebral (intradural) aspergillosis is associated with the highest mortality of all different manifestations of IA. The infection spreads to the CNS either by haematological dissemination from pulmonary foci or expands directly from paranasal sinus infection. Aspergillus spp. may also enter the CNS due to traumatic inoculation or during surgical procedures.[13] CNS aspergillosis often presents with neurological symptoms, such as altered mental status, a focal neurological deficit, seizure, persistent headache or rarely meningeal signs.