{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T22:52:24Z","timestamp":1789080744627,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,7]],"date-time":"2026-02-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770422400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support is associated with potentially life-threatening complications, among which nosocomial infections play a significant role. The increasing incidence of fungi as causative agents of ECMO-associated infections is a growing concern. Methods: This case series includes all patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the \u201cRenato Dulbecco\u201d Teaching Hospital in Catanzaro who developed invasive fungal infections (IFIs) during ECMO support. Results: Of the 70 patients, 15.7% (N = 11) developed IFIs during ECMO. Among these, 91% (N = 10) died, while one patient survived and was discharged. Of the IFIs, 72.7% (N = 8) were cases of invasive candidiasis (IC), and 18.2% (N = 2) were cases of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). One patient developed both IC and IPA during ECMO treatment. Additionally, 54.5% (N = 6) of the patients with IFIs also had bacterial co-infections, most of which were caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria. Conclusions: This study highlights the high incidence and mortality of IFIs in ECMO patients. It underscores the urgent need for clear definitions, better diagnostic strategies, pharmacokinetic data on antifungal therapies, and the implementation of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to optimize outcomes in this vulnerable population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16040505","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T10:45:31Z","timestamp":1770633931000},"page":"505","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Invasive Fungal Infections During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Case Series from Intensive Care Unit and Literature Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5555-3732","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesca","family":"Serapide","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Riccardo","family":"Serraino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angelo","family":"Feola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-7380-3439","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Helen Linda","family":"Morrone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vincenzo","family":"Olivadese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2281-6529","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Neri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intesive Care Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eugenio","family":"Biamonte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intesive Care Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Bruni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intesive Care Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Arcavacata di Rende, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eugenio","family":"Garofalo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intesive Care Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6970-7202","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federico","family":"Longhini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intesive Care Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3846-4620","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandro","family":"Russo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, \u201cMagna Graecia\u201d University of Catanzaro, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1016\/j.suc.2021.09.001","article-title":"Basics of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation","volume":"102","author":"Wrisinger","year":"2022","journal-title":"Surg. 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