Disseminated cryptococcosis in a geriatric man following high-dose systemic steroid therapy for severe COVID-19 pneumonia

Hinako Nawa; Dai Akine; Tomohiro Tamura; Koyumi Saito; Takayuki Kaburagi; Teppei Sasahara

doi:10.1002/jgf2.652

Disseminated cryptococcosis in a geriatric man following high-dose systemic steroid therapy for severe COVID-19 pneumonia

J Gen Fam Med. 2023 Sep 21;24(6):350-351. doi: 10.1002/jgf2.652. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

Hinako Nawa¹, Dai Akine^{2

3}, Tomohiro Tamura¹, Koyumi Saito⁴, Takayuki Kaburagi¹, Teppei Sasahara³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Ibaraki Prefectural Central Hospital Ibaraki Cancer Center Kasama Japan.
² Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Ibaraki Prefectural Central Hospital Ibaraki Cancer Center Kasama Japan.
³ Department of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine Jichi Medical University Shimotsuke Japan.
⁴ Department of Dermatology, Ibaraki Prefectural Central Hospital Ibaraki Cancer Center Kasama Japan.

Abstract

An 88-year-old man was treated with high-dose systemic steroid therapy for COVID-19 and idiopathic interstitial pneumonia months before admission to the hospital because of swelling and redness in his left arm. Cryptococcus neoformans was detected in his blood sample on day eight of admission, and despite antifungal therapy, he died on day 43. Clinicians should be vigilant about the risk of prolonged immunosuppression as a side effect of high-dose systemic steroid usage for COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID‐19; disseminated cryptococcosis; high‐dose systemic steroid therapy.

Publication types

Case Reports