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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 2000, p. 4569-4576, Vol. 38, No. 12
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research
Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1; Fungus
Testing Laboratory, University of Texas Health Science Center, San
Antonio, Texas2; University of Alberta
Microfungus Collection, Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada3; and Pediatric Branch, National
Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,
Maryland4
Received 6 June 2000/Returned for modification 10 July
2000/Accepted 21 September 2000
A 12-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia was referred
to King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center. The diagnosis
without central nervous system (CNS) involvement was confirmed on
admission, and chemotherapy was initiated according to the Children
Cancer Group (CCG) 1882 protocol for high-risk-group leukemia. During
neutropenia amphotericin B (AMB) (1 mg/kg of body weight/day) was
initiated for presumed fungal infection when a computed tomography (CT)
scan of the chest revealed multiple nodular densities. After 3 weeks of
AMB therapy, a follow-up chest CT revealed progression of the pulmonary
nodules. The patient subsequently suffered a seizure, and a CT scan of
the brain was consistent with infarction or hemorrhage. Because of
progression of pulmonary lesions while receiving AMB, antifungal
therapy was changed to liposomal AMB (LAMB) (6 mg/kg/day). Despite 26 days of LAMB, the patient continued to have intermittent fever, and CT
and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain demonstrated findings consistent with a brain abscess. Aspiration of brain abscess was performed and the Gomori methenamine silver stain was positive for
hyphal elements. Culture of this material grew Acrophialophora fusispora. Lung biopsy showed necrotizing fungal pneumonia with negative culture. The dosage of LAMB was increased, and itraconazole (ITRA) was added; subsequently LAMB was discontinued and therapy was
continued with ITRA alone. The patient demonstrated clinical and
radiological improvement. In vitro, the isolate was susceptible to low
concentrations of AMB and ITRA. A. fusispora is a
thermotolerant, fast-growing fungus with neurotropic potential. We
report the first case of human infection involving the CNS.
Acrophialophora resembles Paecilomyces but
differs in having colonies that become dark and in the development of
phialides along the sides or at the tips of echinulate brown
conidiophores. Conidia are borne in long chains and are smooth or
ornamented with fine-to-coarse echinulations, sometimes in spiral
bands. The taxonomy of the genus Acrophialophora is
reviewed, and Acrophialophora nainiana and
Acrophialophora levis are considered as synonyms of
A. fusispora.
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Acrophialophora fusispora Brain Abscess
in a Child with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Review of Cases and
Taxonomy
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Pediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, P.O. Box 3354, Riyadh 11211, Saudi Arabia. Phone: 966 1 442 7762. Fax: 966 1 442 7784. E-mail: imohsen{at}kfshrc.edu.sa or
ialmohsen{at}hotmail.com.
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