title: Pseudomonas aeruginosa blepharoconjunctivitis during cytoreductive chemotherapy in a woman with acute lymphocytic leukemia.
abstract: Patients undergoing chemotherapy regimens for hematologic malignancies are prone to develop unusual and potentially life-threatening infections during periods of leukopenia- induced immunosuppression. We report the case of a woman who received consolidation chemotherapy for acute lymphocytic leukemia and acquired necrotizing Pseudomonas aeruginosa blepharoconjunctivitis of the right eye during a period of mild leukopenia. The infection led to severe orbital and periorbital inflammation, spreading down to the neck. High-dose antibiotic treatment with ceftazidime and tobramycin combined with granulocyte cell-stimulating factor cleared the infection after several days, but plastic surgery was needed to restore normal eye closure.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Hematology, Oncology and Clinical Immunology, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Giagounidis
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meckenstock
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Flacke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wehmeier
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aul
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001762:Blepharitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D003231:Conjunctivitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections