Harris, Courtney E.

ABSTRACT Attending conferences is a foundational component of professional growth in transplant infectious diseases (TIDs), yet trainees and early‐career faculty often face an overwhelming array of meeting options and limited guidance on how to maximize the experience. This report outlines practical strategies for selecting the most impactful conferences, preparing effectively, engaging with poster sessions, cultivating meaningful professional connections, and incorporating rest and reflection into conference travel. Unlike previous discussions hosted by the TID Early Career Network (TxIDECN), which typically occurred over social media, this was a live expert panel with audience participation at the 2025 Fred Hutch Symposium on Infectious Diseases in the Immunocompromised Host on May 13, 2025, in Seattle, Washington. Here, we summarize that discussion with actionable tools to navigate conferences intentionally and translate these experiences into sustained academic and career development for emerging TID professionals. image

Background: Isavuconazole (ISA) has a favorable side effect profile that makes it attractive for treatment of invasive fungal infections (IFI). It carries FDA approval for invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis, but there are fewer data for other organisms and non-pulmonary infections. We conducted this review to investigate how ISA performed at treating IFI, with an especial interest in these non-approved indications. Methods: We retrospectively identified and reviewed 131 patients who received ISA as treatment for IFI at our institution, some of whom received ISA as their first anti-fungal therapy and others who received ISA as either step-down therapy or salvage therapy. We identified the microbiologic cause of infection as well as the anatomic site involved for each patient. We then classified patients according to their response to ISA: namely cured, partially responded, or stabilized. Results: The majority of patients were immunocompromised (n = 76, 58%). ISA was used primarily as a secondary therapy (n = 116, 89%); either as a step-down/switching from other agents, or as salvage therapy. The most common reasons for switching to ISA were toxicities with prior agents followed by QT prolongation. Although pulmonary aspergillosis and mucormycosis were represented in more than half of the cohort, ISA was also used off-label for treatment of other organisms such as endemic fungi (n = 19, 15%) as well as central nervous system (CNS) infections (n = 15, 11%). We have described the detailed clinical characteristics of these CNS infections cases. The overall clinical response rate varied by type of infection and site involved (57–73% response rate). Conclusions: We demonstrated encouraging clinical responses, particularly outside the FDA-approved indications, as well as good tolerability. This report highlights the critical need for expanded scope of prospective studies to delineate the efficacy of this better-tolerated agent, especially in central nervous system infections.

Abstract Background The treatment of invasive fungal infections (IFI) is often complicated by drug-drug interactions, toxicities, and host comorbidities. Isavuconazole (ISA) has a favorable side effect profile and has FDA approval for invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis, but there are fewer data on its efficacy for other microbes and non-pulmonary infections. We report our experience of ISA in IFI treatment, with a particular focus on non-pulmonary sites and other microbial etiologies. Methods We identified patients who received ISA as part of IFI treatment from 1/1/2015–4/1/2020 at Mayo Clinic. We categorized them by organ involvement and by pathogens, and identified patterns of ISA use and clinical outcomes. Results A total of 131 patients were identified. Similar to the existing literature, the majority were pulmonary infections (60%), with 12% invasive sinus infection, 12% central nervous system (CNS) infection, and 7% fungemia. Aspergillus was the most common pathogen (39%), yeast comprised 19%, dimorphic fungi 15%, Mucormycosis 12%, phaeohyphomycosis 5%, and other molds 3%. ISA was used as secondary/salvage therapy in 89% of cases. The response rate varied by organ involvement and pathogen. ISA had complete/partial resolution or achieved stability in 57% of fungemia cases, 63% of invasive sinus infections, 64% of pulmonary infections, and 73% of CNS infections. Aspergillus species had a 67% response rate, with 72% response in yeast infections, 65% rate in dimorphic fungi, 53% for mucormycosis, and 86% in dematiaceous molds. Conclusion Although limited by a small sample size, the subgroup review based on organ site and microbial etiology did seem to show roughly similar results to approved uses. The CNS infections treated with ISA were particularly of interest, given the limited options available with reliable CNS penetration. The current available literature has little to say on the efficacy of ISA in these off-label uses, with the majority being similar case series. This report highlights the importance of prospective trials comparing ISA to other antifungals in a greater variety of indications to better identify when this better-tolerated agent can be safely used. Disclosures Courtney E. Harris, MD, Dynamed: Advisor/Consultant

Abstract The field of transplant infectious diseases is rapidly evolving, presenting a challenge for clinical practice and trainee education. Here we describe the construction of transplantid.net, a free online library, crowdsourced and continuously updated for the dual purpose of point-of-care evidence-based management and teaching.

Abstract Background Isavuconazole (ISA) is a relatively recent triazole antifungal with several attractive qualities and so increased clinical experience and data on the use of ISA are desirable. However, the data on the pattern of ISA use in invasive fungal infections (IFI) is limited. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of patients with probable or proven IFI treated with ISA at Mayo Clinic from 1/1/2015 to 4/1/2020 to examine temporal trends and characteristics of ISA use. Results The use of ISA rose over this period, from 4 cases in 2015 to 42 cases in 2019. Of 131 patients identified, ISA was used as the initial antifungal in 15 (11.5%) patients and as the secondary agent in 116 (88.5%) patients. The most cited reasons for choosing ISA as first-line therapy were drug-drug interactions (5, 33%) and baseline QTc prolongation (3, 20%). In cases of ISA used as a secondary agent, the reasons for transitioning to ISA were QTc prolongation (22, 19%), followed by judged failure of the primary therapy (20, 17%), drug-drug interactions (12, 10%), and various toxicities with the first agent. ISA was discontinued early in 81 (62%) patients. Common reasons for early discontinuation were patient death or comfort care (27, 33%), intolerance (18, 22%), failure of therapy (17, 21%), cost or access (6, 7%), drug-drug interaction (3, 4%), issues with absorption or drug delivery (3, 4%), and microbe susceptibility (1, 1%). ISA was judged successful and used as definitive treatment in the remaining 50 (38%) patients. About 30 patients took >1 year of ISA, and no major adverse effects from long-term therapy were noted. Conclusion Although ISA is approved for pulmonary aspergillosis and mucormycosis, we found that few patients were treated with ISA as either primary or salvage therapy. In cases where it was used, shortening the QTc and fewer drug-drug interactions were its most attractive qualities. Although it is a newer azole, the morbidity common with other antifungals should prompt more studies on ISA’s efficacy to increase clinicians’ confidence in this option. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures.