Disseminated Scedosporium prolificans (S. inflatum) infection after single-lung transplantation

Abstract

This report concerns the first case of disseminated infection with Scedosporium prolificans (S. inflatum) that occurred in a patient who had received an organ transplant and was verified at autopsy. The patient underwent single (right)-lung transplantation and subsequently died on the 33rd postoperative day in a context of septic shock. S. prolificans was isolated from various specimens, including two cultured blood samples. The organism was associated with Candida albicans in some of these specimens. Autopsy revealed the presence of numerous nodular abscesses in the lungs, myocardium, kidneys, spleen, and gall bladder. These abscesses contained mycelial filaments and numerous oval conidia suggestive of Scedosporium species but no yeasts. MIC studies demonstrated the resistance of the S. prolificans isolate to amphotericin B, fluctyosine, miconazole, ketoconazole, and itraconazole, whereas the isolate of C. albicans was susceptible to amphotericin B, flucytosine, miconazole, and ketoconazole. From the data from our case and six published reports of cases of disseminated S. prolificans infection, it can be concluded that this filamentous fungus is a new agent responsible for the most serious mycoses in both neutropenic patients and patients who have undergone organ transplantation.