Acute myelogenous leukemia complicated by acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis due to Aspergillus terreus.
Infections caused by Aspergillus terreus are rare but have been associated with a poor outcome in immunocompromised patients due to frequent resistance to conventional antifungal therapy. This report describes a case of a woman who developed acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG) due to A. terreus during induction chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia. She initially failed to respond to treatment with amphotericin B but the infection resolved following the introduction of oral itraconazole. Opportunistic infections caused by A. terreus are an emerging problem and can be associated with a high mortality rate. Early microbiological diagnosis is critical since resistance to amphotericin B is likely and itraconazole appears to be an effective treatment for this infection.
Khoury
H
H
The Leukemtia/Bone Marrow Transplantation Program of British Columbia: Division of Hematology, Vancouver General Hospital, British Columbia Cancer Agency and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Poh
C F
CF
Williams
M
M
Lavoie
J C
JC
Nevill
T J
TJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005892:Gingivitis, Necrotizing Ulcerative / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017964:Itraconazole / Q000494:pharmacology; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D017964:Itraconazole