Primary invasive aspergillosis of the digestive tract: report of two cases and review of the literature.
BACKGROUND
Disseminated aspergillosis is thought to occur as a result of vascular invasion from the lungs with subsequent bloodstream dissemination, and portals of entry other than sinuses and/or the respiratory tract remain speculative.


METHODS
We report two cases of primary aspergillosis in the digestive tract and present a detailed review of eight of the 23 previously-published cases for which detailed data are available.


CONCLUSIONS
These ten cases presented with symptoms suggestive of typhlitis, with further peritonitis requiring laparotomy and small bowel segmental resection. All cases were characterized by the absence of pulmonary disease at the time of histologically-confirmed gastrointestinal involvement with vascular invasion by branched Aspergillus hyphae. These cases suggest that the digestive tract may represent a portal of entry for Aspergillus species in immunocompromised patients.
Eggimann
P
P
Dept. of Intensive Care Medicine and Burn Center, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Bugnon 46, CH -1011, Lausanne, Switzerland. philippe.eggimann@chuv.ch
Chevrolet
J-C
JC
Starobinski
M
M
Majno
P
P
Totsch
M
M
Chapuis
B
B
Pittet
D
D
D000368:Aged; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000473:pathology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*