Clinical and Demographic Features of Paracoccidioidomycosis in Argentina: A Multicenter Study Analysis of 466 Cases

GIUSIANO, GUSTAVO; TRACOGNA, FERNANDA; SANTISO, GABRIELA; ROJAS, FLORENCIA; MESSINA, FERNANDO; SOSA, VANESA; CHACÓN, YONE; SOSA, MARIA DE LOS ÁNGELES; MUSSIN, JAVIER; CATTANA, MARÍA EMILIA; VAZQUEZ, ANDREA; FORMOSA, PATRICIA; FERNÁNDEZ, NORMA; PIEDRABUENA, MILAGROS; VALDEZ, RUTH; DAVALOS, FLORENCIA; FERNÁNDEZ, MARIANA; ACUÑA, ALEJANDRA; AGUILERA, ALEJANDRA; GUELFAND, LILIANA; AFELTRA, JAVIER; GARCIA EFFRON, GUILLERMO; POSSE, GLADYS; AMIGOT, SUSANA; SERRANO, JULIAN; SELLARES, OTILIA; ÁLVAREZ, CHRISTIAN; PINEDA, GLORIA; CARNOVALE, SUSANA; ZALAZAR, LAURA; CANTEROS, CRISTINA

Journal of Fungi

MDPI

Año: 2023 vol. 9

Information on paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) in Argentina is fragmented and has historically been based on estimates, supported only by a series of a few reported cases. Considering the lack of global information, a national multicentric study in order to carry out a more comprehensive analysis was warranted. We present a data analysis including demographic and clinical aspects of a historical series of 466 cases recorded over 10 years (2012–2021). Patients were aged from 1 to 89 years. The general male: female (M:F) ratio was 9.5:1 with significant variation according to the age group. Interestingly, the age range 21–30 shows an M:F ratio of 2:1. Most of the cases (86%) were registered in northeast Argentina (NEA), showing hyperendemic areas in Chaco province with more than 2 cases per 10,000 inhabitants. The chronic clinical form occurred in 85.6% of cases and the acute/subacute form occurred in 14.4% of cases, but most of these juvenile type cases occurred in northwestern Argentina (NWA). In NEA, the incidence of the chronic form was 90.6%; in NWA, the acute/subacute form exceeded 37%. Diagnosis by microscopy showed 96% positivity but antibody detection displays 17% of false negatives. Tuberculosis was the most frequent comorbidity, but a diverse spectrum of bacterial, fungal, viral, parasitic, and other non-infectious comorbidities was recorded. This national multicenter registry was launched in order to better understand the current status of PCM in Argentina and shows the two endemic zones with a highly diverse epidemiology.