ePS02.8 Prevalence and clinical associations of fungal airway isolates in the UK adult cystic fibrosis population

Objectives To establish the prevalence and species diversity of fungal airway isolates in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) from 2007 to 2012. To determine the presence of clinical associations with the spectrum of fungal species identified. Methods UK CF Registry data was interrogated for Aspergillus culture status and other non- Aspergillus fungal (NAF) species based on each patient's annual review sputum sample for the years 2007 to 2012. Associations between clinical parameters, relating to disease severity and prescribed therapies, and the presence of fungal species were sought by using Chi-Squared and T-tests analyses. Results The prevalence of Aspergillus sp. isolates had more than doubled from 6.5% (n = 166/2542) in 2007 to 13.6% (n = 676/4985) in 2012 ( P Aspergillus filamentous fungal species was observed, notably Scedosporium sp.: 0.07% to 0.68% and Exophiala sp.: 0% to 0.54%. In the 2012 cohort, patients with both Aspergillus and non- Aspergillus fungal cultures had the lowest FEV1 compared to patients with no fungi or yeast (mean FEV1 56.1% vs 66.8%; P = 0.01). Patients with both NAF & Aspergillus cultures also required more days of intravenous antibiotic therapy in the year (median 28 days) compared to those with negative fungi or yeast cultures (median 10 days; P Conclusion This study demonstrates the rising prevalence and diversity of fungal airways species amongst CF adults in the UK. The higher burden of disease severity associated with emerging filamentous fungal species and Aspergillus species is interesting and worthy of further investigation for clinical significance.