[Multivisceral infarcts are complication of invasive aspergillosis]

Abstract

Aspergillus fumigatus is one of the species of Aspergillus that causes aspergillosis. The clinical picture of invasive-disseminated aspergillosis is generally characterized by fever and respiratory distress that usually follows a fatal course. This form of intensive aspergillosis is suffered by severely immunossuppressed patients. There is another clinical form of severe aspergillosis, aortic aspergillosis, that appears after cardiac surgery. We present two cases of invasive aspergillosis complicated by multiple visceral infarcts involving the liver, spleen, kidneys, pancreas, thiroid and brain. Infarcts were confirmed in necropsy and appeared to be caused by an overwhelming amount of intravascular hiphae, which were observed in the infarcted areas acting forming septic embolus. We believe that multi-visceral infarcts are an underestimated complication of invasive aspergillosis. Given the progressive increase in the population of immunossuppressed patients, clinicians have to aware of all the possible presentations of invasive aspergillosis.