Obstructive hydrocephalus and intracerebral mass secondary to Epicoccum nigrum

Taylor L Charron; Michelle A Gill; Laura M Filkins; Veena Rajaram; Christian A Wysocki; Brett A Whittemore

doi:10.1016/j.mmcr.2022.01.002

Obstructive hydrocephalus and intracerebral mass secondary to Epicoccum nigrum

Med Mycol Case Rep. 2022 Jan 6:35:18-21. doi: 10.1016/j.mmcr.2022.01.002. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Authors

Taylor L Charron¹, Michelle A Gill², Laura M Filkins³, Veena Rajaram^{4

5}, Christian A Wysocki⁶, Brett A Whittemore^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
² Departments of Pediatrics and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, 660 S Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
³ Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
⁴ Division of Pediatric Pathology and Neuropathology, Department of Pathology, Children's Health, 1935 Medical District, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA.
⁵ Division of Pediatric Pathology and Neuropathology, Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
⁶ Divsion of Allergy and Immunology, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
⁷ Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Health, 1935 Medical District, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA.
⁸ Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.

Abstract

Here we report a case of a 14-week-old girl with a history of intrauterine drug exposure and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy secondary to cardiac arrest requiring prolonged resuscitation at birth presented with irritability and a bulging anterior fontanelle. After neurosurgical resection, pathologic examination showed fungal hyphae, and Epicoccum nigrum was detected by fungal PCR and sequencing. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a central nervous system infection due to Epicoccum nigrum.

Keywords: Epicoccum nigrum; Fungal CNS infection; Intracerebral fungal mass; Obstructive hydrocephalus.

Publication types

Case Reports