A Review of Diagnostic Methods for Invasive Fungal Diseases: Challenges and Perspectives

Abstract

Invasive fungal diseases are associated with a high morbidity and mortality, particularly in the context of immunosuppression. Diagnosis of invasive fungal diseases is usually complicated by factors such as poor clinical suspicion and unspecific clinical findings. Access to modern diagnostic tools is frequently limited in developing countries. Here, we describe five real-life clinical cases from a Brazilian tertiary hospital, in order to illustrate how to best select diagnostic tests in patients with different fungal infections.