Pulmonary and rhinocerebral mucormycosis. Successful outcome with amphotericin B and griseofulvin therapy.

An ominous prognosis is associated with combined pulmonary and rhinocerebral mucormycosis (phycomycosis). We report the case of a diabetic patient with ketoacidosis who had extensive pulmonary and rhinocerebral mucormycosis that responded satisfactorily to amphotericin B and griseofulvin therapy. The affected lung is completely atelectatic and has remained so for 12 months without evidence of necrosis or abscess formation.     

Splenic abscess caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis in association with peritoneal involvement: case report and review.

We report a rare case of a patient with blastomycosis who presented with splenic abscess and peritoneal involvement. This case is unique in that no historical or radiographic evidence of antecedent pulmonary infection was apparent and therapy with orally administered ketoconazole was effective. We reviewed the English-language literature on blastomycotic splenic abscess and compared findings from other cases with findings from the current case.     

儿童1型糖尿病合并肺毛霉病一例并文献复习

报告1例儿童1型糖尿病合并肺毛霉病的临床表现及诊治情况,并复习文献,总结诊治经验.患儿为14岁女孩,新发1型糖尿病合并酮症酸中毒,并发毛霉菌肺炎.临床过程凶险、肺部病变快速进展,糖尿病控制差,入院2周起予两性霉素B脂质体治疗反应差,支气管灌洗无效,未及手术而于住院第51天大咯血死亡.复习文献,毛霉病多发生于血糖控制不良的2型成人糖尿病患者,儿童新发1型糖尿病并发毛霉菌肺炎少见.目前国际上推荐糖尿病合并肺毛霉病的治疗方案为：早期诊断,积极治疗原发病,尽早应用两性霉素B脂质体及尽早外科手术清创并切除受累的肺叶.     

Tubercular splenic abscess in an immunocompetent patient--a rare entity

Tubercular splenic abscess is an uncommon entity. It has been reported in association with immunodeficiency states. Tubercular splenic abscess in an immunocompetent patient is extremely rare. A 24 year old female who had already received a complete course of anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) for pulmonary tuberculosis was diagnosed as having tubercular splenic abscess. She was successfully managed by performing splenectomy. Operative findings and histopathological examinations confirmed the diagnosis.     

Disseminated Cunninghamella bertholletiae infection with spinal epidural abscess in a kidney transplant patient: case report and literature review

Cunninghamella bertholletiae is a rare cause of invasive mucormycosis. We report the case of a 42‐year‐old Thai woman who suffered from disseminated C. bertholletiae infection. The patient developed dry cough, sharp shooting pain in the left buttock referred to the left leg, and fever 1 month after undergoing deceased‐donor kidney transplantation. Radiographic studies exhibited multiple pulmonary cavities, osteomyelitis of the sacral spine, epidural abscess along the lumbrosacral spine, and paravertebral soft tissue involvement. Surgical debridement of the epidural abscess concurrent with prolonged intravenous administration of amphotericin B resulted in a good outcome.     

Synchronous isolated splenic metastasis from colon carcinoma and concomitant splenic abscess： A case report and review of the literature

This study aimed to describe a case in which an isolated splenic metastasis was synchronous with the colonic primary and a concomitant splenic abscess was associated. A wide review of the literature was also performed. A 54-year-old woman with abdominal pain and fever was admitted to our department. Abdominal CT revealed two low-density areas in the spleen and wall-thickening of the left colonic flexure, which was indistinguishable from the spleen parenchyma. The patient underwent emergency celiotomy, with the presumptive diagnosis of obstructing colon carcinoma of the splenic flexure, and concomitant splenic abscess. Subtotal colectomy and splenectomy were performed. Pathological findings were consistent with mucinous colonic carcinoma, synchronous isolated splenic metastasis and concomitant splenic abscess. This paper is also a review of the existing literature on the association between colorectal cancer and splenic metastasis. Only 41 cases of isolated splenic metastasis from colon carcinoma have been reported in the literature. This report is the third described case of synchronous isolated splenic metastasis from colon carcinoma. Only one case with concomitant splenic abscess has been previously reported. When obstructing left-sided colorectal cancer is suspected, careful CT examination can allow early diagnosis of splenic involvement by the tumor. The literature review suggests that there might be a significant improvement in survival following splenectomy for a metachronous isolated splenic metastasis from colon carcinoma. Prognosis for synchronous splenic metastasis seems to be related to the advanced stage of the disease. Nevertheless, no definitive conclusions can be drawn because of the small number of cases.     

Splenic abscess due to Brucella infection: is the splenectomy necessary? Case report and literature review

The case of a woman with splenic abscess due to Brucella is reported. There was no response with antibiotics and surgical treatment was required. On the basis of this case and the literature review we consider that surgical treatment must be considered in patients with splenic abscess due to Brucella infection.     

Pulmonary mucormycosis in the setting of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A case report and review of the literature

We describe the first case of pulmonary mucormycosis occurring in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) maintained on chronic low dose oral steroids (10 mg/day). The diagnosis was made by direct histopathological examination and culturing of infected tissue obtained by fiberoptic bronchoscopy. Pulmonary mucormycosis is caused by infection with an opportunistic fungus of the order Mucorales and is an acute, rapidly developing and often fulminant process usually occurring in immunocompromised individuals. Risk factors include neutropenia, hematologic malignancies, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, skin burns and deferoxamine therapy in dialysis patients. This case illustrates the importance of early suspicion of mucormycosis and immediate diagnostic bronchoscopic examination in cases of rapidly progressing pulmonary infiltrates in COPD patients on low doses of corticosteroids.     

A case of pulmonary mucormycosis diagnosed through video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery--report of a case]

We report a case of pulmonary mucormycosis successfully treated by medical methods only. The patient was a 51-year-old man with diabetes mellitus who presented with general fatigue and appetite loss. His chest radiograph and CT scan showed multiple thin-walled cavities in the left upper lobe. Because we could arrive at a clear diagnosis, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was performed. Lung biopsy of the left upper lobe revealed pulmonary mucormycosis. Our diagnosis was pulmonary mucormycosis with diabetes mellitus and alcohol addiction. The patient was treated with antifungal drugs--mainly amphotericin-B--while the diabetes mellitus was well controlled, and his diet and nutritional state was improved, resulting in the disappearance of symptoms, improvement of the radiological findings, and the absence of any relapse of the disease of at least 3 years.     

A case of pancreatic intraductal papillary-mucinous carcinoma with penetration to the stomach and splenic abscess]

We report the case of an 80-year-old man given a diagnosis of pancreatic intraductal papillary-mucinous carcinoma (IPMC) and early gastric cancer. He refused surgery, therefore endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) for gastric cancer and careful observation were performed. Penetration of the IPMC to the stomach was observed 3 months later. Ten months after the initial diagnosis, he was found to have a splenic abscess and was subsequently treated by antibiotics and percutaneous drainage, and a fistula between the IPMC and the splenic abscess was observed. We suppose IPMC penetration to the spleen and bacterial transmission from the stomach through the fistula caused the splenic abscess. While IPMC is recognized as a low-grade malignancy, some cases of invasive carcinoma with fistulation to adjacent organs have been reported. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of IPMC associated with splenic abscess due to pancreatosplenic fistula.     

Persisting fever in a patient with brucella endocarditis: occult splenic abscess

Brucella endocarditis, despite its high mortality rate with combined medical and surgical treatment, has a low occurrence rate in cases of brucellosis and has been endemic in regions surrounding Turkey. Rarely, patients with infective endocarditis with common microorganisms develop a splenic abscess. A patient is reported on with brucella endocarditis and persistent fever. An occult splenic abscess was found. This is the second reported case in the literature of brucella endocarditis with splenic abscess.     

Intra-abdominal abscess as presentation of colonic cancer

Splenic abscess and retroperitoneal abscess are uncommon, although severe diseases, with a high mortality rate that has been attributed to delayed diagnosis, due to the unspecificity of clinical symptoms. We report two patients with a splenic and a retroperitoneal abscess, respectively, in both cases as an onset of colon cancer. The two patients complained of abdominal pain and fever as onset symptoms. Abdominal ultrasonography was normal in the case of retroperitoneal abscess and abnormal in the case of splenic abscess. CT Scan was diagnostic in both cases. In the patient with splenic abscess. CT Scan established a further diagnostic suspect of colon cancer, which was confirmed by colonoscopy. In the patient with retroperitoneal abscess, diagnosis of colon carcinoma was made during the surgical act. In spite of an adequate, combined medical and surgical therapy, both patients died within a short time after surgery.     

5例病理确诊的肺毛霉菌病临床分析

目的 探讨肺毛霉菌病的临床特征.方法 经病理确诊的5例肺毛霉菌病患者的临床资料进行分析.结果 4例患者分别合并糖尿病、支气管扩张、肺结核等基础疾病,咳嗽(3/4)、咳痰(3/4),发热(3/4),咯血(3/4)是常见的临床症状,胸部影像学表现为多发斑片状病灶3例,多发空洞病灶1例,单一团块病灶1例,病灶伴有空洞形成4例.治疗结果为痊愈1例,好转2例,死亡1例,无法判断1例.结论 肺毛霉菌病临床罕见,临床表现与影像学特征缺乏特异性,患者多并存基础疾病,对具有高危因素的患者早期进行病理组织学检查对改善肺毛霉菌病患者预后具有重要价值.     

Pulmonary multinodular mucormycosis in type 1 diabetic patient with diabetic ketoacidosis

We report a case of pulmonary multinodular mucormycosis in a Type 1 diabetic patient with diabetic ketoacidosis. He had a history of 20-pack-year tobacco use. The initial chest roentgenogram and thorax tomography (after the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis) revealed multiple nodular lesions with cavitation in the upper lobes of pulmonary parenchyma. Resection of three nodular lesion demonstrated cheesy necrotic mass in the cavitating lesions. The diagnosis of pulmonary multinodular mucormycosis was made depending on the histopathologic examination yielding nonseptated right angle branching-shaped hyphae typical of mucormycosis. The patient was started on liposomal amphotericin B and discharged at the sixth week of therapy with a scheduled therapy of amphotericin B. When he came back after 33 months, he was metabolically unregulated under the insulin therapy. He confessed that he had been smoking heroin besides tobacco for the last 5 years. A new thorax computerized tomography showed that pulmonary nodules were slightly regressed but not resolved.     

Ruptured splenic abscess secondary to infectious mononucleosis.

A 24-year-old woman with a recent diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis presented with fever and left upper quadrant pain. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a splenic abscess that at laparotomy was found to have ruptured. This case illustrates a rare cause of splenic abscess and a rare complication of infectious mononucleosis.     

Reverse halo sign on chest imaging in a renal transplant recipient

Without proper treatment, the mortality of pulmonary mucormycosis is nearly 100%. Although the diagnosis is often made histologically, it can be suspected when patients have a reverse halo sign on computed tomography (CT) of the chest, along with the right clinical findings. We describe the case of a woman 7 months post renal transplant who presented with fevers, malaise, and chest pain. Her chest CT revealed a round, focal area of ground‐glass attenuation surrounded by a complete rim of consolidation in the left upper lobe, consistent with the reverse halo sign. Pulmonary mucormycosis was diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy. She was successfully treated with combined medical and surgical therapies. In the context of this case, we provide a brief review of the diagnosis of pulmonary mucormycosis, with a focus on radiographic and pathologic findings.     

Splenic abscess in a patient with fecal peritonitis

Splenic abscess is a rare entity normally associated with underlying diseases.We report a case of splenic abscess with large gas formation in a non-diabetic and non-immunosuppressed patient after surgery for colon perforation.The most frequent cause of splenic abscess is septic embolism arising from bacterial endocarditis.Splenic abscess has a high rate of mortality when it is diagnosed late.Computed tomography resolved any diagnostic doubt,and subsequent surgery confirmed the diagnosis.     

Splenic abscesses due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in patients with AIDS

Among 60 patients with AIDS seen at our institution, two had splenic abscesses due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis without pulmonary tuberculosis. In both cases splenic abscess was the first manifestation of AIDS; the patients had prolonged fever and had lost weight and experienced malaise; slight hepatomegaly was noted in both instances and peripheral lymphadenopathy in one. Chest radiography gave normal results in one case and showed hilar lymphadenopathy in the other. Ultrasonographic findings were characteristic: homogeneous hepatomegaly and splenomegaly, with multiple filling defects of variable size. Diagnosis required splenectomy in one case and biopsy of cervical lymph nodes in the other. In both cases Ziehl-Neelsen staining gave positive results; M. tuberculosis grew from a culture of splenic tissue of one patient and from a culture of lymph nodal tissue of the other. There was a rapid response to antituberculous therapy. Splenic tuberculosis seems to be a distinct extrapulmonary entity in patients with AIDS. Ultrasonographic images are useful for diagnosis and follow-up.     

Splenic abscess disclosing endocarditis

A 54 year old man, hospitalised for thoraco-abdominal pain resulting from a septicemia which gives positive hemocultures for streptococcus D Bovis, is diagnosed to have a splenic abscess which will require splenectomy. At the same time, an endocarditis develops and gets worse, with auriculo-ventricular blockade and, especially, major aortic insufficiency, which is the cause of death by a brutal and massive pulmonary oedema. In the progression of an endocarditis, the occurrence of a splenic abscess, primary localisation of the initial septicemia or the secondary of an arterial septic embolism, is a rare contingency compared to the frequency of splenomegaly or splenic infarction: less than 2 percent of the cases in the literature. This very atypical and exceptional case serves as a reminder, on the one hand, of the diagnostic inadequacy of echocardiography which cannot visualise vegetation in the course of progressive endocarditis, and, on the other, of the prognostic importance of auriculoventricular blockade in septal and aortic endocardial lesions.