Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jan-Feb;8(1-2):E118-20.
doi: 10.5489/cuaj.1254.

Fungus ball in the urinary tract: A rare entity

Valentin Praz  1 , Rodolfo Burruni  1 , Florian Meid  1 , Marc Wisard  1 , Patrice Jichlinski  1 , Thomas Tawadros  1
Affiliations

Fungus ball in the urinary tract: A rare entity

Valentin Praz et al. Can Urol Assoc J. 2014 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

A fungal mass in the urinary tract (fungus ball), mainly occurring in compromised patients, is a rare and dangerous complication of candiduria. We report 2 cases of fungus ball associated with hydronephrosis and sepsis. As reported in the literature, we treated the first patient by prompt relief of obstruction by nephrostomy and local and systemic antifungal agent. The second patient failed to respond to this treatment due to a distal ureteral stenosis and required open surgery with fungus ball removal and ureteral reimplantation. Despite a large success in urinary tract drainage with antifungal treatments, some cases need a modified approach due to anatomical modification.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Ultrasound analysis revealed bilateral hydronephrosis with pyelic hyperechogenic material.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
A: Right nephrostogram showed a distal ureteral defect associated with a large defect in the bladder and a diverticulum B: Fungus ball relief demonstrated a white soft tissue. C: A computed tomography scan reconstruction 2 months after right reimplantation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wainstein MA, Graham RC, Jr, Resnick MI. Predisposing factors of systemic fungal infections of the genitourinary tract. J Urol. 1995;154:160–3. doi: 10.1016/S0022-5347(01)67255-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sobel JD, Fisher JF, Kauffman CA, et al. Candida urinary tract infections-epidemiology. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;52:S433–6. doi: 10.1093/cid/cir109. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lundquist CW. On primary mycosis of the kidney. Brit J Urol. 1931;3:1–13. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410X.1931.tb11081.x. 6. - DOI
    1. Smaldone MC, Cannon GM, Benoit RM. Case report: bilateral ureteral obstruction secondary to Aspergillus bezoar. J Endourol. 2006;20:318–20. doi: 10.1089/end.2006.20.318. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Palacio-Bedoya F, Cadena JA, Thompson GR, et al. A noninvasive renal fungus ball caused by Rhizopus--a previously unreported manifestation of zygomycosis. Med Mycol. 2010;48:866–9. doi: 10.3109/13693781003694796. - DOI - PubMed