Aureobasidium pullulans infection in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Leonardo Rodrigues de Oliveira, Helio Moraes-Souza, Andre Luiz Maltos, Keila Cristina dos Santos, Rodrigo Juliano Molina, Cristina Hueb Barata
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2013
• Subjects: Aureobasidium pullulans; Subcutaneous mycosis; Phaeohyphomycosis; Chronic lymphocytic leukemia; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0117-2013; https://doaj.org/article/018b19546b7d4f2b8edc0969bcead46e

Saprophytic fungi are being increasingly recognized as etiologic agents of mycoses in immunosuppressed patients. We report a case of subcutaneous infiltration by Aureobasidium pullulans, likely due to traumatic inoculation, in a neutropenic patient during chemotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The patient was treated with amphotericin B deoxycholate but was subsequently switched to itraconazole, which improved the lesion. This case highlights the importance of considering unusual fungal infections in critically ill patients such as those who are immunosuppressed due to chemotherapy. Diagnostic techniques and effective antifungal therapy have improved the prognosis of these cases.