Challenging Invasive Fungal Infections: Risk Assessment and Diagnosis
Released On
September 19, 2022
Expires On
November 19, 2023
Media Type
Internet
Completion Time
85 minutes
Specialty
Critical Care, Dermatology, Gastroenterology, Hematology-Oncology, Hospitalist, Infectious Disease, Medical Microbiology, Pathology, Pharmacy, Primary Care, Rheumatology, Surgery
Topic(s)
Fungal Infections
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This activity is jointly provided by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine; Terranova Medica, LLC; and the Mycoses Study Group Education & Research Consortium.



This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from F2G.
Credit Available
- Physicians — maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
- Pharmacists — 1.25 contact hours (0.125 CEUs)
All other healthcare professionals completing this course will be issued a statement of participation.
Target Audience
Primary audience: This activity is directed to infectious disease physicians, critical care physicians, hospitalists, surgeons, pathologists/clinical microbiologists, hematologists/oncologists, pharmacists, pediatric infectious disease specialists, transplant specialists, and other healthcare providers responsible for the management of invasive fungal infections.
Secondary audience: Primary care providers, GI, dermatology, and rheumatology specialists who work in the endemic areas or who see patients receiving biologics who are at risk for endemic mycoses.
Program Overview
Featuring cases from the virtual live event MSGERC Town Hall: Challenging Invasive Fungal Infections, this enduring activity will address identifying at-risk patients and securing the invasive fungal infections (IFIs) diagnosis. It will highlight the problem with low awareness of endemic mycoses as potential causes of CAP, and the importance of appropriate use of antifungal susceptibility testing.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:
- Discuss the epidemiology of invasive fungal infections
- Define risk factors for invasive mold infections and coccidioidomycosis
- Diagnose challenging invasive fungal infections
- Utilize antifungal susceptibility testing appropriately in the management of invasive fungal infections
Faculty
Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA, FECMM, CMQ
Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology
Vice-Chair of Medicine for Healthcare Quality
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases
McGovern Medical School
Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner is a professor of medicine and epidemiology, the Vice-Chair of Medicine for Healthcare Quality, the director of the Laboratory of Mycology Research, and the Division Chief at the Division of Infectious Diseases of the McGovern Medical School (a part of UTHealth). He also serves as medical director for epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship for Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center and UT Physicians. He is also currently coordinating the CoVID-19 response for UTHealth and its affiliated hospitals and clinics.
Dr Ostrosky-Zeichner obtained his medical degree from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. He completed his internal medicine residency at Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran, and his infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center combined fellowship program.
Dr Ostrosky-Zeichner is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America, and the Academy of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology. He is a Senior Editor for Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, as well as an editorial board member of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and Clinical Infectious Diseases. He is Vice President of the Mycoses Study Group and Educational Consortium and a Vice-President of the International Immunocompromised Host Society. He is also a past chair of the Infectious Diseases Society of America Standards and Practice Guidelines Committee and has been a consultant to the US FDA and CDC. He has advanced training and experience in medical mycology, healthcare epidemiology, emerging infections, antimicrobial stewardship, general and transplant infectious diseases, and healthcare quality and has published over 175 peer-reviewed articles on those topics.
George R. Thompson III, MD
Professor of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Clinical Consultant UC-Davis Center for Coccidioidomycosis
Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology University of California
Davis Sacramento, California
Dr George R. Thompson completed his medical degree at the University of Missouri and his internal medicine residency and infectious disease fellowship at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio and is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha. He is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in the Departments of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology and Immunology and co-director of the UC-Davis Center for Coccidioidomycosis.
Dr Thompson specializes in the care of patients with invasive fungal infections and has research interest in fungal diagnostics and host immunogenetics. His current research focuses on the host-pathogen interaction of humans and both Coccidioides spp. (the agent of “Valley Fever”), and Cryptococcus spp. Dr Thompson has substantial expertise in the care of patients with fungal diseases and co-chairs the Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium Education Committee, which is responsible for the dissemination of materials and knowledge to clinicians across the country to improve the care of patients with fungal infections. He has also been appointed to the Coccidioidomycosis Study Group and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Journal Club, providing editorials in its monthly internationally disseminated IDSA Newsletter.
Nathan P Wiederhold, PharmD
Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
and Medicine/Infectious Diseases
Director, Fungus Testing Laboratory
University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio
Nathan P. Wiederhold, PharmD, is Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and his doctorate in pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, and completed residency training at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, and a fellowship in medical mycology at the University of Houston and UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is currently director of the Fungus Testing Laboratory at UT Health San Antonio.
Dr Wiederhold’s research is focused on trends in antifungal resistance, new mechanisms of drug resistance in fungi, and the evaluation of novel agents under development for the treatment of invasive fungal infections, concentrating on the preclinical evaluation of investigational therapeutic modalities and diagnostic technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of fungal infections. This includes both in vitro assessment for activity against a wide range of fungal pathogens, such as multi-drug resistant clinical isolates, and in vivo models of invasive fungal infections. This work, supported through NIH/NIAID contracts and grants from industry, involves close collaboration with other researchers in the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Medicine/Infectious Diseases, and Pathology. Dr Wiederhold’s laboratory also serves as the central mycology laboratory for several clinical trials and post-marketing studies.
Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM); Terranova Medica, LLC; and the Mycoses Study Group Education and Research Consortium (MSGERC). Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Credit Designation
Physician Continuing Medical Education
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Continuing Pharmacy Education
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this continuing education activity for 1.25 contact hours (0.125 CEUs) of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
Universal Activity Number –JA4008162-9999-22-349-H01-P
Type of Activity: Knowledge
Disclosures of Conflicts of Interest
- Luis Ostrosky-Zeichner, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA, FECMM, CMQ
-
- Research Support: Astellas, Gilead, Pfizer, Pulmocide, Scynexis
- Consultant: Cidara, F2G, Appili Therapeutics, Merck & Co, Inc
- Speaker: Pfizer, Gilead, F2G
- George R. Thompson III, MD
-
- Research Support: Cidara, Amplyx, Pfizer, F2G, Mayne Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co, Inc
- Consultant: Cidara, Amplyx, Pfizer, F2G, Mayne Pharmaceuticals
- Nathan P Wiederhold, PharmD
-
- Research Support: Astellas, bioMerieux, F2G, Maxwell Biosciences, Sfunga, Mycovia
Instructions for Participation and Credit
There are no fees for participating and receiving CME credit for this enduring activity. To receive CME credit participants must:
- Read the CME/CE information and faculty disclosures.
- Participate in the online activity.
- Submit the evaluation form.
Certificates will be emailed to the participant.
Course Viewing Requirements
Supported Browsers:
Internet Explorer 8.0+ for Windows 2003, Vista, XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and above
Google Chrome 28.0+ for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux
Mozilla Firefox 23.0+ for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux
Safari 6.0+ for Mac OSX 10.7 and above
Supported Phones & Tablets:
Android 4.0.3 and above
iPhone/iPad with iOS 6.1 or above
Disclosure of Unlabeled Use
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.
Disclaimer
Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications and/or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.
Contact Information
For further information, contact Tom Davis by telephone (877-276-4523), or by email tdavis@terranovamedica.com.
If you have any questions regarding the CME/CE certification for this activity, please contact Postgraduate Institute for Medicine at: inquiries@pimed.com or (303) 799-1930.
Copyright © 2022 PIM, MSGERC, and Terranova Medica.