Opportunistic infections in patients with haematological malignancies in Nigeria

Haematological malignancies (HM) are common clinical conditions encountered in Nigeria. Patients with haematological cancers are immunocompromised and as such are at risk of invasive fungal infections (IFIs). The objective of this review was to highlight the paucity of data on IFIs in patients with...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bassey Ewa Ekeng, Kingsley Akaba, Christian Ide, Rita Oladele
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2022-01-01
Series:Journal of Clinical and Scientific Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.jcsr.co.in/article.asp?issn=2277-5706;year=2022;volume=11;issue=3;spage=175;epage=180;aulast=Ekeng
Description
Summary:Haematological malignancies (HM) are common clinical conditions encountered in Nigeria. Patients with haematological cancers are immunocompromised and as such are at risk of invasive fungal infections (IFIs). The objective of this review was to highlight the paucity of data on IFIs in patients with HM in Nigeria and recommendations on the way forward. A literature search for publications from Nigeria on HM including case reports and reviews from 1961 to 2021 yielded 76 publications of which only 9 (11.8%) reported infections in HM. Eight publications documented infection by viruses while only one publication documented bacterial infection. Viruses (73/93, 78.5%) including human cytomegalovirus (n = 19, 20.4%), Hepatitis B virus (n = 15, 16.1%), hepatitis C virus (n = 6, 6.5%) and human T-lymphotropic virus (n = 2, 2.2%) were the commonest causative agents of infections with HIV (n = 31, 33.3%) as the predominant pathogen. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was the only bacterial agent (n = 20, 20.5%). Reports on infections in patients with HM were mostly from the South-South (n = 4), followed by South West (n = 3) and North Central (n = 2). There were no data on IFIs. The limited information on the profile of IFIs in patients with HM in Nigeria may account for the high morbidity and mortality rates associated with HM. Prospective studies should be carried out as a matter of urgency to bridge this knowledge gap.
ISSN:2277-5706
2277-8357