Costs associated with invasive Scedosporium and Lomentospora prolificans infections: a case-control study.

This article focuses on the short- and long-term healthcare costs associated with invasive infections caused by Scedosporium species and Lomentospora prolificans, uncommon mould pathogens particularly affecting immunocompromised patients. A retrospective case-control study across six Australian hospitals found that these infections independently increased median excess hospitalization costs by AUD36,422 and length of stay by 16.27 days during the index admission, with inpatient stay and antifungal therapy as major cost drivers. Over 1.5 years, cumulative costs for survivors rose substantially to a median of AUD203,292, with higher costs observed in patients with haematological malignancy or haematopoietic stem cell transplant and those infected with L. prolificans. These findings highlight the significant economic burden of invasive Scedosporium/L. prolificans infections and provide essential data to inform cost-effectiveness analyses of novel antifungal treatments and healthcare resource allocation.