LAUSR

Scedosporium and Lomentospora species rank second among the filamentous fungi colonizing the airways of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. These fungi could be responsible for allergic bronchopulmonary mycoses (ABPM) and bronchitis before lung transplantation and invasive infections after. However, their role in CF lung disease is debated. The present study aimed to identify clinical or environmental factors associated with an airway colonization by Scedosporium/Lomentospora species in patients with CF over a period of 7 years. A longitudinal cohort study was conducted from 2008 to 2014 in the CF reference centre in Lyon, France, to compare the characteristics of patients with Scedosporium/Lomentospora colonized and non-colonized patients. During the study period, 283 patients completed the clinical and microbiological follow-up. The analysis revealed that a higher number and duration of hospitalizations, an increased number of courses of parenteral antibiotic therapy, an history of ABPA and treatment by itraconazole were significantly associated with an airway colonization by Scedosporium/Lomentospora species. The rate of decline of FEV1 was not statistically different between colonized and non-colonized patients. This study provides evidence that patients colonized by Scedosporium/Lomentospora species require more medical cares than non-colonized patients. Additional cares could be in part explained by the management of Scedosporium/Lomentospora-related diseases such as ABPM or bronchitis. However, we did not demonstrate a faster rate of decline of respiratory function or BMI in colonized patients, suggesting, as previously reported, that colonization of the airways by these fungi does not play a significant role in the progression of CF disease.