Central nervous system infections in transplant recipients by Cladophialophora bantiana.
Cladophialophora bantiana, a dematiaceous fungus, is an uncommon pathogenic organism originally thought to more commonly affect immunocompetent patients. Increasing numbers of reports, however, describe the organism affecting immunocompromised patients. Like all dematiaceous fungi, Cladophialophora can be recognized in histopathologic sections by the golden-brown coloration in the walls of the hyphae. Of all the dematiaceous fungi, Cladophialophora bantiana demonstrates the most neurotropism, which is responsible for increasing recognition of this fungus as the causative agent in brain abscesses in transplant patients. We describe one patient with a liver transplant and another with a double lung transplant, both of whom developed cerebral abscesses caused by this organism, and review the reported literature.
Harrison
D Keith
DK
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
Moser
Stephen
S
Palmer
Cheryl Ann
CA
D000328:Adult; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000166:cytology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001922:Brain Abscess / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D020314:Central Nervous System Fungal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D011859:Radiography; D019172:Transplantation Conditioning / Q000009:adverse effects; D019737:Transplants / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000382:microbiology