Paecilomyces variotii in a pediatric patient with lung transplantation

Abstract

Aspergillus has been noted to be the most common species of filamentous fungus isolated from the airways of lung transplantation (Tx) patients. In general, the bronchi are colonized asymptomatically with Aspergillus but this places such a patient population at greater risk of invasive infection. Other filamentous fungal species may also assume importance in this patient population. Here we report the post-transplant isolation of Paecilomyces variotii from the airways of a pediatric patient with cystic fibrosis (CF) who underwent bilateral living-donor lobar lung Tx. This is the first report of isolation of P. variotii in the pediatric lung Tx population. The isolation of filamentous fungi, such as Paecilomyces, with variable in vitro susceptibility to currently available antifungal agents further complicates the approach to post-transplant antifungal therapy in patients with lung Tx.