Clinical features of patients with talaromycosis marneffei and microbiological characteristics of the causative strains

BACKGROUND: Talaromyces marneffei (T. marneffei) is a temperature‐dependent dimorphic fungus that is mainly prevalent in Southeast Asia and South China and often causes disseminated life‐threatening infections. This study aimed to investigate the clinical features and improve the early diagnosis of talaromycosis marneffei in nonendemic areas. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of six cases of T. marneffei infection. We describe the clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, and imaging manifestations of the six patients. RESULTS: Talaromyces marneffei infection was confirmed by sputum culture, blood culture, tissue biopsy, and metagenomic next‐generation sequencing (mNGS). In this study, there were five disseminated‐type patients and two HIV patients. One patient died within 24 h, and the others demonstrated considerable improvement after definitive diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the lack of significant clinical presentations of talaromycosis marneffei, many cases may be easily misdiagnosed in nonendemic areas. It is particularly important to analyze the imaging manifestations and laboratory findings of infected patients. With the rapid development of molecular biology, mNGS may be a rapid and effective diagnostic method.