1/1221. Human herpes-virus 8 seropositive patient with skin and graft Kaposi's sarcoma after lung transplantation. Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) has been reported after solid organ transplantation mostly in recipients of renal, liver, heart, and bone allografts. We describe the first case of a patient with lung transplantation who developed KS of the skin, but also of the lung graft. The tumors were localized to places of previous trauma, implying the involvement of a Koebner phenomenon. Moreover, a polymerase chain reaction assay revealed the presence of dna sequences of herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) on tissue of the cutaneous KS. Serological tests showed HHV-8 seronegativity of the graft donor and HHV-8 seropositivity of the patient before lung transplantation suggesting that the latter was already infected before the surgery and that immunosuppression resulted in the development of KS. This case report raises the question of the prevalence of HHV-8 in candidates for transplantation and organ donors, and of the value of an antiviral prophylaxis to lower the risk of KS. ( info) |
2/1221. Cutaneous mycobacterium kansasii infection in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: case report and review. mycobacterium kansasii infections of the skin have been described in 31 previously published cases. The median age of these patients is 43 years, and male patients are more frequently affected than female patients. Most patients (72%) with this infection have some alteration of their immune status, but disseminated infection is relatively uncommon (22%). We present the first reported case of cutaneous M. kansasii infection in a patient with previously diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus. The clinical presentation is similar to that expected in lupus profundus. While the duration of treatment is long (18 months), this case demonstrates that rifampin combined with at least 2 other antibiotics can provide excellent results. clarithromycin has demonstrated encouraging in vitro results against M. kansasii but has not yet been reported for treatment of cutaneous infections. ( info) |
3/1221. Pseudogaucher cells in cutaneous mycobacterium avium intracellulare infection: report of a case. We report on a patient infected with human immunodeficiency virus, and with cutaneous mycobacterium avium intracellulare, in whom many cells with abundant reticulated cytoplasm resembling the characteristic cells of Gauchers disease ("pseudogaucher cells") were noted within the dermal infiltrate on biopsy. Although pseudogaucher cells have been reported in association with M. avium intracellulare infection in extracutaneous sites, this is, to our knowledge, the first report of cutaneous pseudogaucher cells in the skin. ( info) |
4/1221. Cryptococcoma of the sacrum. Cryptococcoma of the sacrum was the initial presentation of systemic cryptococcosis in a patient on chronic steroid therapy for autoimmune hepatitis. The bone lesion was the only overt manifestation of systemic cryptococcal disease, which preceded other clinical manifestations and led to the subsequent diagnosis of systemic infection. ( info) |
5/1221. Fatal disseminated trichoderma longibrachiatum infection in an adult bone marrow transplant patient: species identification and review of the literature. trichoderma longibrachiatum was recovered from stool surveillance cultures and a perirectal ulcer biopsy specimen from a 29-year-old male who had received an allogeneic bone marrow transplant for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The amphotericin b (2.0 microgram/ml) and itraconazole (1.0 microgram/ml) MICs for the organism were elevated. Therapy with these agents was unsuccessful, and the patient died on day 58 posttransplantation. At autopsy, histologic sections from the lungs, liver, brain, and intestinal wall showed infiltration by branching septate hyphae. Cultures were positive for trichoderma longibrachiatum. While trichoderma species have been recognized to be pathogenic in profoundly immunosuppressed hosts with increasing frequency, this is the first report of probable acquisition through the gastrointestinal tract. Salient features regarding the identification of molds in the trichoderma longibrachiatum species aggregate are presented. ( info) |
6/1221. Central line sepsis in a child due to a previously unidentified mycobacterium. A rapidly growing mycobacterium similar to strains in the present mycobacterium fortuitum complex (M. fortuitum, M. peregrinum, and M. fortuitum third biovariant complex [sorbitol positive and sorbitol negative]) was isolated from a surgically placed central venous catheter tip and three cultures of blood from a 2-year-old child diagnosed with metastatic hepatoblastoma. The organism's unique phenotypic profile and ribotype patterns differed from those of the type and reference strains of the M. fortuitum complex and indicate that this organism may represent a new pathogenic taxon. ( info) |
7/1221. Left leg paralysis in a renal transplant. The postoperative course of renal transplant patients is often complicated by opportunistic infection. Up to 4% of posttransplant infections are caused by nocardia species. We present an unusual case of a nocardial spinal cord abscess that caused left leg paralysis. ( info) |
8/1221. Addisonian crisis in a liver transplant patient due to fluconazole withdrawal. fluconazole is an antifungal agent commonly used in liver transplant patients. In addition to its antifungal activity, it is a potent inhibitor of the liver cytochrome P450 enzymes. These enzymes degrade a wide range of metabolically active compounds including glucocorticoids. In this report, we identify an episode of Addisonian crisis that occurred in a liver transplant patient receiving prednisone immunosuppression after fluconazole was discontinued. We postulate the mechanism for the crisis was a reversal of the fluconazole-induced suppression of the P450 enzymes. The resulting increased activity altered the patient's glucocorticoid metabolism leading to an Addisonian crisis. ( info) |
| The recently described species candida dubliniensis has been recovered primarily from superficial oral candidiasis in hiv-infected patients. No clinically documented invasive infections were reported until now in this patient group or in other immunocompromised patients. We report three cases of candidemia due to this newly emerging candida species in hiv-negative patients with chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression and bone marrow transplantation. ( info) |
| infectious bronchitis virus, otherwise known as coronavirus, can cause mild upper respiratory tract illnesses in children and adults. Rarely has coronavirus been linked, either by serology or nasal wash, to pneumonia. We report a case of a young woman who, following treatment for stage IIIA breast cancer using a high-dose chemotherapy regimen followed by autologous bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, developed respiratory failure and was found to have coronavirus pneumonia as diagnosed by electron microscopy from BAL fluid. We propose that coronavirus should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute respiratory failure in cancer patients who have undergone high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic support. ( info) |