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A rare case of Trichosporon brain abscess, successfully treated with surgical excision and antifungal agents
Affiliations- Neurology Department of the Military Institute of Health Services in Warsaw
- Infectious and Tropical Diseases Department, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, Islamic Republic Of
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Abstract
Trichosporonosis is an acute, sometimes fatal infection with the potential capability of disseminating to multiple deep organs. More than 100 cases of trichosporonosis have been described, particularly in patients with neutropenia or haematological malignancies. In 1970, Watson et al. described the first case of brain trichosporonosis; the patient died 4 weeks after admission. Herein, we describe a 34-year-old man with a history of autoimmune hepatitis, hypothyroidism, and alopecia totalis, treated with corticosteroids, who was admitted with left lower limb weakness. Brain MRI revealed a diffuse brain lesion in the right frontoparietal area mimicking a brain abscess. After resection of the lesion, Trichosporon asahii was isolated from the abscess. Further treatment with antifungal agents resulted in improvement in clinical status. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second case of Trichosporon brain abscess since the first description in 1970 and the first case of successful treatment of Trichosporon brain abscess.
Abstract
Trichosporonosis is an acute, sometimes fatal infection with the potential capability of disseminating to multiple deep organs. More than 100 cases of trichosporonosis have been described, particularly in patients with neutropenia or haematological malignancies. In 1970, Watson et al. described the first case of brain trichosporonosis; the patient died 4 weeks after admission. Herein, we describe a 34-year-old man with a history of autoimmune hepatitis, hypothyroidism, and alopecia totalis, treated with corticosteroids, who was admitted with left lower limb weakness. Brain MRI revealed a diffuse brain lesion in the right frontoparietal area mimicking a brain abscess. After resection of the lesion, Trichosporon asahii was isolated from the abscess. Further treatment with antifungal agents resulted in improvement in clinical status. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second case of Trichosporon brain abscess since the first description in 1970 and the first case of successful treatment of Trichosporon brain abscess.
Keywords
Trichosporon, fungal infection, brain abscess, immunocompromised
About this articleTitle
A rare case of Trichosporon brain abscess, successfully treated with surgical excision and antifungal agents
Journal
Neurologia i Neurochirurgia Polska
Issue
Pages
92-95
Page views
252
Article views/downloads
375
DOI
10.5114/ninp.2012.27180
Bibliographic record
Neurol Neurochir Pol 2012;46(1):92-95.
Keywords
Trichosporon
fungal infection
brain abscess
immunocompromised
Authors
Keivan Basiri
Mohsen Meidani
Farshid Rezaie
Shabnam Soheilnader
Farzad Fatehi
