Disseminated Protothecosis Due to Prototheca zopfii and Literature Review

Abstract

Prototheca species are achlorophyllic algae that are a rare cause of infection in humans. It most commonly causes localized cutaneous disease and rarely disseminated infection. Immunocompromised patients have the highest risk of disseminated protothecosis, with a higher mortality rate than localized cutaneous infections. At the species level, infections caused by Prototheca zopfii are reported less frequently than those caused by Prototheca wickerhamii. The diagnosis can be made using histopathology, culture, and molecular testing. There is no definitive evidence for an effective treatment, which currently consists of antifungals (primarily amphotericin B). With only a handful of cases of disseminated protothecosis reported worldwide that are caused by P. zopfii , we herein present an additional case of a postbone marrow transplant patient in the Midwest of the United States.