Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) -- a common fungal infection that claims 340,000 lives every year worldwide, can turn lethal for about 1 in three people with lung diseases, finds a study by researchers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital.
CPA, caused by exposure to airborne spores of the
mould Aspergillus, causes gradual scarring of the lungs for months and years.
It is a debilitating condition that causes severe
tiredness, weight loss, breathlessness, and coughing up blood. While exposure
to Aspergillus is harmless to most people, it may affect those with lung
damage.
The study, based on a major global review and
published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, showed that around 32 per
cent of people who have had prior damage from lung diseases will die after five
years if they also get infected by CPA.
Nearly 15 per cent of people with CPA will die in
the first year following other lung diseases.
AIIMS Delhi researchers Dr. Abinhav Sengupta and
Dr. Animesh Ray examined the death rates in 8,778 patients described in the
literature from all continents except Antarctica.
The international study including researchers
from the University of Manchester, showed that CPA patients with prior
tuberculosis (TB) had a lower overall 5-year mortality of 25 per cent.
However, they also found that patients with CPA
end up being misdiagnosed as having TB, and then not treated with antifungal
agents.
Treatment with antifungal drugs or surgery is key
to improving symptoms and also reducing the risk of death, the researchers said.
Further, people older than 60, and those having
interstitial lung disease, current cancer, and smoking-related lung disease
carried worse outcomes, said the team.
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