Israel Medical Association Journal

Background: Trichosporon asahii is an opportunistic fungal pathogen increasingly recognized in immunocompromised patients, including children. Although rare, T. asahii fungemia carries significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in those with hematologic malignancies or prolonged immunosuppression.

Objectives: This case series aimed to describe the clinical characteristics, risk factors, microbiological profiles, and treatment outcomes of pediatric patients diagnosed with T. asahii fungemia over a 13-year period at a tertiary care children’s hospital.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of all cases of T. asahii fungemia diagnosed between 2010 and 2023 in patients under 18 years of age. Data collected included patient demographics, underlying conditions, immunosuppressive status, presence of central venous catheters (CVCs), neutrophil counts, antifungal susceptibility profiles, treatments administered, and clinical outcomes.

Results: Most cases occurred in immunocompromised patients, mainly those with neutropenia and a CVC. Half of the patients died. T. asahii isolates were generally susceptible to voriconazole and other azoles but showed partial resistance to amphotericin B. Clinical improvement was mainly associated with early antifungal treatment (particularly voriconazole) and supportive measures, including immunosuppression reduction, neutrophil recovery, and CVC removal.

Conclusions: Voriconazole appears to be a reasonable empiric treatment option for pediatric T. asahii fungemia, a condition associated with a very poor prognosis. Successful management may also require early recognition of risk factors and interventions aimed at reversing immunosuppression and eliminating potential sources of infection such as CVCs.

In the 1950s, ionizing radiation to the scalp was commonly used in Israel as a treatment for tinea capitis. Decades later, epidemiological studies identified an increased incidence of head and neck malignancies, particularly basal cell carcinoma, as well as intracranial tumors such as meningiomas among individuals who underwent this therapy in childhood. In addition to the oncologic risk, irradiated scalp skin presents significant reconstructive challenges due to chronic skin atrophy, hypovascularity, fibrosis, and impaired wound healing. In this study, we present our clinical experience with a modified, skin-sparing surgical protocol for managing reconstruction post excision of non-melanoma skin cancer of the scalp in patients previously irradiated for tinea capitis. The surgical strategy is tailored according to lesion size, depth, periosteal involvement, and scalp tissue quality. It incorporates components of the reconstructive ladder as appropriate. We present three representative cases highlighting key surgical challenges and considerations in this complex population.

Background: Gastrointestinal malignancies comprise a broad spectrum of neoplasms and have a high overall incidence. The incidence rates in Israel vary among ethnic groups due to different risk factors.

Objectives: To investigate incidence trends of these cancers in Israel in both Jewish and Arab ethnic groups in order to better understand the risks in those groups.

Methods: This study is based on data published by the Israel National Cancer Registry and the Central Bureau of Statistics. We compared statistics between ethnicities and genders. We examined the eight most common gastrointestinal cancers, focusing on colon, rectal and gastric cancers.

Results: Between 1980 and 2012 there was a decline in the incidence of gastric cancer in the Jewish population; in contrast, a significant increase occurred in Arab women, but there was no significant change in Arab men. Colon cancer showed a relative decrease in incidence in the Jewish population, but an increase in the Arab population. A decrease in the incidence of rectal cancer in the Jewish population and an increase in the Arab population was observed. 

Conclusions: Gastric, colon and rectal cancers exhibit differences in incidence and outcome between Jewish and Arab populations in Israel. These differences were not observed in the other five types of less common gastrointestinal cancers.