Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: help is on the way

Submitted by GAtherton on 5 February 2016

Medical journal ‘The Lancet’ has lent its support to the campaign for the need to better recognise, diagnose and treat chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) throughout the world by writing an editorial entitled ‘Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis: help is on the way’ (Feb 2016).

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine highlights the publication of the first comprehensive guidelines for the diagnosis and management of CPA released in December 2015 by the European Respiratory Society and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, but also highlights the following:

One important area not expounded on by the guidelines is the critical burden of CPA in the developing world; more than a third of cases are in patients with tuberculosis. There is an urgent unmet need for low-cost diagnostics, as an alternative to CT scanning, and for the development of effective screening techniques to identify people most at risk of infection, such as those living with tuberculosis.

Furthermore, with restricted access to drugs, physicians in resource-limited areas are forced to consider surgery in cases that are better suited to medical treatment. The Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections’ application for itraconazole to be added to WHO’s essential medicines list failed, meaning that many vulnerable people remain without access to life-saving diagnostics and antifungal drugs.