Catheter-related septicemia due to Aureobasidium pullulans
Journal
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Journal Volume
12
Journal Issue
6
Pages
e137-e139
Date Issued
2008
Author(s)
Abstract
Aureobasidium pullulans is a saprophytic dematiaceous fungus with melanin-pigmented cell wall.1Schell W.A. Salkin I.F. McGinnis M.R. Bipolaris, Exophiala, Scedosporium, Sporothrix and other dematiaceous fungi.in: Murray P.R. Baron E.J. Jorgensen J.H. Pfaller M.A. Yolken R.H. Manual of clinical microbiology. 8th ed. American Society for Microbiology, Washington DC2003: 1820-1847Google Scholar It is the best known Aureobasidium species for causing emerging human diseases including peritonitis in patients on peritoneal dialysis, splenic abscess, meningitis, skin and soft tissue infections, as well as septicemia in patients with malignancies or receiving major surgery.2Hawkes M. Rennie R. Sand C. Vaudry W. Aureobasidium pullulans infection: fungemia in an infant and a review of human cases.Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2005; 51: 209-213Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (52) Google Scholar Catheter-related septicemia has rarely been reported.2Hawkes M. Rennie R. Sand C. Vaudry W. Aureobasidium pullulans infection: fungemia in an infant and a review of human cases.Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2005; 51: 209-213Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (52) Google Scholar, 3Bolignano G. Criseo G. Disseminated nosocomial fungal infection by Aureobasidium pullulans var. melanigenum: a case report.J Clin Microbiol. 2003; 41: 4483-4485Crossref PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar, 4Girardi L.S. Malowitz R. Tortora G.T. Spitzer ED. Aureobasidium pullulans septicemia.Clin Infect Dis. 1993; 16: 338-339Crossref PubMed Scopus (36) Google Scholar, 5Kaczmarski E.B. Liu Yin L. Tooth J.A. Love E.M. Delamore I.W. Systemic infection with Aureobasidium pullulans in a leukaemic patient.J Infect. 1986; 13: 289-291Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (40) Google Scholar We report herein one probable case and the other a confirmed case of catheter-related A. pullulans septicemia. The isolates were confirmed by molecular methodology, and cases of A. pullulans septicemia were reviewed. A 61-year-old woman was admitted for sudden onset of loss of consciousness two years after the diagnosis and surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Her Glasgow coma score was E1M4V1 at admission. A computed tomography of the head was emergently performed and disclosed a large hemorrhagic area measuring 73 mm at the left frontal lobe. Hematoma evacuation was performed immediately and revealed a tumor measuring 3 × 3 × 3 cm located superficially in the left frontal area, and pathology demonstrated metastatic carcinoma. A central venous catheter (CVC) was placed in the right femoral vein for vascular access on the 1st hospital day. Methylprednisolone 40 mg every 6 hours was given for cerebral edema and tapered off after 11 days of use. A spiking fever of up to 39 °C developed on the 26th hospital day. Physical examination was unremarkable except for local redness over the CVC insertion site. The catheter was removed after 26 days of use due to suspicion of CVC-related infection. The catheter tip culture yielded a yeast-like organism and the colony turned black after prolonged incubation. Culture of blood from the CVC in a BACTEC 9240 Myco/F Lytic bottle (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD, USA) yielded a yeast-like organism after 48-hours of incubation. The colony was mucoid, and microscopic exam revealed hyaline yeast-like cells mixed with black yeast-like cells. The initial identification using VITEC identification system (Yeast Biochemical Card, bioMerieux, France) revealed 90% similarity with Cryptococcus laurentii. However, after 7 days of incubation on inhibitory mold agar (IMA, BBL Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, MD, USA) the colony became brown to black (Figure 1A ). Slide culture using cornmeal agar (BBL Microbiology Systems) incubated at 25 °C revealed typical morphology of A. pullulans; thick-walled pigmented arthroconidia with oval-shaped oval blastic conidia (Figure 1B).1Schell W.A. Salkin I.F. McGinnis M.R. Bipolaris, Exophiala, Scedosporium, Sporothrix and other dematiaceous fungi.in: Murray P.R. Baron E.J. Jorgensen J.H. Pfaller M.A. Yolken R.H. Manual of clinical microbiology. 8th ed. American Society for Microbiology, Washington DC2003: 1820-1847Google Scholar The fever resolved after removal of the CVC and thus no antifungal agent was given. A follow-up blood culture after the catheter removal was sterile. She was transferred to another hospital on the 33rd day of hospitalization in stable condition with improved neurological status. A 54-year-old woman was admitted for removal of a left back pleural-cutaneous fistula with left-side empyema. She had suffered esophageal rupture with surgical repair 5 years prior to this admission. Another episode of empyema complicated with pleural-cutaneous fistula had been corrected by surgery 10 months before this admission, but the surgical wound remained poorly healed. After admission, empirical treatment for her empyema was given with intravenous ampicillin/sulbactam 3 g every 6 hours and gentamicin 80 mg every 12 hours. The wound culture revealed viridans streptococci three days later. Panendoscopy on the 7th hospital day disclosed an esophageal fistula, which was removed on the 10th hospital day. Total parenteral nutrition was given after the surgery via a right femoral CVC and was reinserted over the right internal jugular vein on the 28th hospital day. Intravenous ticarcillin/clavulanate 3.1 g every 6 hours, amikacin 200 mg every 12 hours, and fluconazole 200 mg every day were started on the 32nd hospital day for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia pneumonia and Candida glabrata empyema. The fever gradually subsided with antibiotic treatment five days later. On the 45th hospital day, her condition worsened with new fever and chills and a body temperature of 39 °C. The physical examination was unremarkable except for a tender lymph node measuring 1 × 2 cm near the CVC insertion site. The right internal jugular CVC was removed after 18 days of use and the CVC tip was sent for culture. Laboratory data revealed a leukocyte count of 6.58 × 109/l with segmented neutrophils 81.3%. One of the two blood fungal culture sets from peripheral blood revealed a yeast-like organism and the colony turned black after 7 days. The colony later turned black and A. pullulans was identified. The CVC tip culture also yielded a mucoid colony that was also identified as A. pullulans. Amphotericin B 0.5 mg/kg/day was given for breakthrough fungal infection under fluconazole and continued for 7 days. Oral fluconazole 100 mg/day was used as maintenance for another 56 days. The swollen lymph node resolved with the antifungal treatment. A follow-up blood culture one month later was sterile. The patient was discharged in stable condition on the 82nd hospital day. The nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rRNA genes (including ITS1, the 5.8S rRNA gene, and ITS2) of the two isolates were examined using two sets of primers as previously described.6Tseng T.C. Liaw S.J. Hsiao C.H. Wang C.Y. Lee L.N. Huang T.S. et al.Molecular evidence of recurrent histoplasmosis with 9-year latency in a patient with Addison's disease.J Clin Microbiol. 2005; 43: 4911-4913Crossref PubMed Scopus (10) Google Scholar The sequences obtained were analyzed using GCG software (Wisconsin package; version 10.1 for Unix) and the BLASTN program (National Center for Biotechnology Information Internet homepage). Both sequences showed 100% (544/544) identity to A. pullulans (accession number ). Diagnosis of A. pullulans by molecular methods for confirmation may be necessary because conventional identification systems may be erroneous as previously reported and in our first case.7McCathy DI, Forthegill AW, Sutton DA, Rinaldi MG. Possible misidentification of Hormonema dematioides which code as Cryptococcus albidus on API 20C. Abstract F88. Abstracts of the 97th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Washington DC: American Society for Microbiology; 1997. p. 275.Google Scholar Analyzing the variable sequence area within fungal ribosomal RNA genes (ITS1 and ITS2) has been noted to play an important role in characterization and identification of fungi.8Iwen P.C. Hinrichs S.H. Rupp M.E. Utilization of the internal transcribed spacer regions as molecular targets to detect and identify human fungal pathogens.Med Mycol. 2002; 40: 87-109Crossref PubMed Scopus (284) Google Scholar The clinical findings of A. pullulans septicemia from the literature and the two cases in the present report are summarized in Table 1. These reported cases comprised patients with underlying malignancies as well as in surgical patients with prolonged intravascular catheter usage.Table 1Summary of Aureobasidium pullulans septicemia reported in the literatureCase No. [reference]Age/genderUnderlying conditionMajor surgeryIntravascular deviceTreatmentOutcome3 [2]4 mo/MOperation for TAPVDYesGore-Tex patch for ASD repairAmphotericin BDied1 [3]28 y/MSevere traumaYesNot reportedFluconazoleSurvived2 [4]53 y/FOvarian carcinoma, stage IIIcNoBroviac catheter for TPNAmphotericin BDied4 [5]28 y/MAML with neutropenic feverNoHickman catheter for chemotherapyAmphotericin BDiedaDied of brainstem hemorrhage after chemotherapy.5 [PR]61 y/FMetastatic cerebral tumor bleeding with hematoma evacuation, HCC, steroid usageYesCentral venous catheterNil, catheter removedSurvived6 [PR]54 y/FOperation for esophageal-pleural-cutaneous fistula with empyemaYesCentral venous catheterAmphotericin B then fluconazoleSurvivedTAPVD, total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage; ASD, atrial septal defect; TPN, total parenteral nutrition; AML, acute myeloid leukemia; PR, present report; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma.a Died of brainstem hemorrhage after chemotherapy. Open table in a new tab TAPVD, total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage; ASD, atrial septal defect; TPN, total parenteral nutrition; AML, acute myeloid leukemia; PR, present report; HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma. Treatment for A. pullulans is not standardized because of its rarity. Amphotericin B and fluconazole have been used for the treatment of A. pullulans septicemia2Hawkes M. Rennie R. Sand C. Vaudry W. Aureobasidium pullulans infection: fungemia in an infant and a review of human cases.Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2005; 51: 209-213Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (52) Google Scholar, 3Bolignano G. Criseo G. Disseminated nosocomial fungal infection by Aureobasidium pullulans var. melanigenum: a case report.J Clin Microbiol. 2003; 41: 4483-4485Crossref PubMed Scopus (34) Google Scholar (Table 1). Catheter removal should perhaps be mandatory as in our first patient, who did not receive any antifungal agents and recovered solely after catheter removal. The need for catheter removal has also been emphasized in peritoneal dialysis-related peritonitis caused by A. pullulans.2Hawkes M. Rennie R. Sand C. Vaudry W. Aureobasidium pullulans infection: fungemia in an infant and a review of human cases.Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2005; 51: 209-213Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (52) Google Scholar A similar experience has also been reported in catheter-related Aspergillus fungemia.4Girardi L.S. Malowitz R. Tortora G.T. Spitzer ED. Aureobasidium pullulans septicemia.Clin Infect Dis. 1993; 16: 338-339Crossref PubMed Scopus (36) Google Scholar These two cases have several implications: first, although encountered rarely, A. pullulans can cause CVC-related septicemia and catheter removal may be necessary. Second, physicians and laboratorians should raise their suspicion of A. pullulans when an atypical mucoid yeast isolate is found, especially if the colonies turn black after prolonged incubation and a commercial identification system misidentifies these as Cryptococcus species. Conflict of interest: No conflict of interest to declare.
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