Report of three azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus cases with TR34/L98H mutation in hematological patients in Barcelona, Spain

We aimed to report the emergence of azole-resistant invasive aspergillosis in hematologic patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in Spain during the last 4 months.

Prospective, descriptive study was performed to describe and follow all consecutive proven and probable invasive aspergillosis resistant to azoles from hematological cohort during the last 4 months. All patients had fungal cultures and antifungal susceptibility or real-time PCR detection for Aspergillus species and real-time PCR detection for azole-resistant mutation.

Four cases of invasive aspergillosis were diagnosed in 4 months. Three of them had azole-resistant aspergillosis. Microbiological diagnosis was achieved in three cases by means of fungal culture isolation and subsequent antifungal susceptibility whereas one case was diagnosed by PCR-based aspergillus and azole resistance detection. All the azole-resistant aspergillosis presented TR34/L98H mutation. Patients with azole-resistant aspergillosis had different hematologic diseases: multiple myeloma, lymphoblastic acute leukemia, and angioimmunoblastic T lymphoma. Regarding risk factors, one had prolonged neutropenia, two had corticosteroids, and two had viral co-infection. Two of the patients developed aspergillosis under treatment with azoles.

We have observed a heightened risk of azole-resistant aspergillosis caused by A. fumigatus harboring the TR₃₄/L98H mutation in patients with hematologic malignancies. The emergence of azole-resistant aspergillosis raises concerns for the community, highlighting the urgent need for increased surveillance and the importance of susceptibility testing and new drugs development.