The first reported case of central venous catheter-related fungemia caused by Cryptococcus liquefaciens.

Abstract

We describe a case of central venous catheter-related fungemia caused by Cryptococcus liquefaciens, a non-neoformans and non-gattii Cryptococcus, in a non-HIV patient. A 71-year-old man with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma receiving antineoplastic chemotherapy was febrile approximately 30 weeks after central venous port insertion, and C. liquefaciens was isolated from all three performed blood cultures as well as a central venous catheter tip culture. In vitro antifungal susceptibility tests showed that this yeast isolate was susceptible to low concentrations of amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole and voriconazole yet was resistant to 5-fluorocytosine (MIC: >64 μg/ml), unlike Cryptococcus neoformans. Treatment of the patient with oral and intravenous voriconazole was effective and consistent with the susceptibility tests. Although non-neoformans and non-gattii Cryptococcus spp. are considered non-pathogenic environmental yeast, they may rarely be the causative agents of serious infections in humans, as in the present case.

• Authors: Hiromu Takemura, Hideaki Ohno, Ikuo Miura, Taeko Takagi, Tadatomo Ohyanagi, Hiroyuki Kunishima, Akiko Okawara, Yoshitsugu Miyazaki, Hideki Nakashima
• Journal: Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy (J Infect Chemother) Vol. 21 Issue 5 Pg. 392-4 (May 2015) ISSN: 1437-7780 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 25499194 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Aged
• Catheter-Related Infections (drug therapy, microbiology)
• Central Venous Catheters (adverse effects, microbiology)
• Cryptococcosis (drug therapy, microbiology)
• Fungemia (drug therapy, microbiology)
• Humans
• Male