Pseudozyma aphidis bloodstream infection in a patient with aggressive lymphoma and a history of intravenous drug use: Case report and review of the literature

Angelo Maccaro; Renato Pascale; Andrea Liberatore; Gabriele Turello; Simone Ambretti; Pierluigi Viale; Monica Cricca

doi:10.1016/j.mmcr.2021.05.002

Pseudozyma aphidis bloodstream infection in a patient with aggressive lymphoma and a history of intravenous drug use: Case report and review of the literature

Med Mycol Case Rep. 2021 Jun 2:33:5-8. doi: 10.1016/j.mmcr.2021.05.002. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Authors

Angelo Maccaro¹, Renato Pascale¹, Andrea Liberatore^{2

3}, Gabriele Turello³, Simone Ambretti³, Pierluigi Viale¹, Monica Cricca^{2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, IRCCS S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, 40138, Bologna, Italy.
² Center for Applied Biomedical Research (CRBA), University of Bologna, 40138, Bologna, Italy.
³ Unit of Microbiology, IRCCS S.Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via G. Massarenti, 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy.
⁴ Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine - DIMES, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, 40138, Bologna, Italy.

Abstract

Pseudozyma aphidis is an environmental fungus which causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients. Here we report the case of a 54-year-old, intravenous drug user woman, newly diagnosed to have an aggressive lymphoma, who developed a bloodstream infection caused by P. aphidis treated successfully with amphotericin-B therapy. The precise identification was assessed by sequencing. We propose to consider intravenous drug use as a risk factor for invasive infections due to this environmental yeast.

Keywords: Antifungal resistance; Basidiomycete yeasts; Fungemia; Intravenous drug use; Pseudozyma aphidis.

Publication types

Case Reports