The first isolation of Westerdykella dispersa in a critically burned patient

Folia Microbiol (Praha). 2018 Jul;63(4):479-482. doi: 10.1007/s12223-018-0590-7. Epub 2018 Feb 17.

Abstract

Patients with critical thermal trauma belong to one of the most high-risk groups for development of infectious complications. Fungal infections are not among frequent complications during therapy of patients with thermal trauma, yet their incidence dramatically aggravates the prognosis for patients with this disorder. In the case report, we present the case of a young man with a critical burn, where Westerdykella dispersa was isolated. Identification of the pathogen was provided with a combination of cultivation and molecular biological confirmation. In this case, the distinction between infection and colonization was very complicated. Histopathological examination for definitive diagnosis of infection was not performed because the material from unburned soft tissue sampling could further compromise the function of the hand. Repeated cultivation and molecular identification W. dispersa before and after the necrectomy is indicative of infection rather than colonization. It is the second documented case of positive cultivation with this pathogen in humans and the first such case in a non-neutropenic host.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Antifungal Agents / pharmacology
  • Antifungal Agents / therapeutic use
  • Ascomycota / drug effects
  • Ascomycota / isolation & purification
  • Ascomycota / physiology*
  • Burns / complications*
  • Czech Republic
  • DNA, Fungal / genetics
  • DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / genetics
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Mycoses / drug therapy
  • Mycoses / etiology
  • Mycoses / microbiology*
  • Mycoses / pathology
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S / genetics
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • DNA, Fungal
  • DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S