Rhizomucor hepatosplenic abscesses in a patient with renal and pancreatic transplantation

Disseminated Invasive Mucormycosis Infection Following Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are challenging to predict, diagnose and treat, and are associated with a particularly high mortality among patients with hematological malignancies. They are relatively uncommon in patients with lymphoma, compared with those with acute leukemia or undergoing allogeneic transplantation. We present a patient, autografted for recurrent lymphoma, with fever and refractory diarrhea persisting post engraftment, eventually attributable to disseminated mucor infection. This case illustrates the challenge of timely diagnosis and initiation of treatment for IFI in lymphoma patients, who do not routinely receive antifungal prophylaxis, and the importance of aggressive investigation and symptom-directed tissue sampling for evidence of IFI in febrile immunocompromised hosts not responding to broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Evaluation of the Diagnostic Performance of mNGS in Detecting Intra-Abdominal Infections of the Emergency Department Patients

Purpose

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are gradually becoming common in the emergency department, though the incidence is low and the prognosis is fair, as the symptoms are similar to other intra-abdominal diseases, rapid and accurate diagnosis of the causative agents is essential for clinical management. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in detecting IAI in the emergency department.

Patients and Methods

This was a retrospective, single-centered study including patients admitted to the emergency department from January 1st, 2021 to August 31st, 2022 with diagnosis of IAI. The comparison between mNGS and microbial culture using paracentesis fluid samples was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of mNGS for IAI. Meanwhile, paracentesis fluid and peripheral blood mNGS were compared to explore the sample specificity. Further, the microbial community structure of the patients with pyogenic liver abscesses (PLA) was analyzed.

Results

Thirty-four IAI patients including 23 with pyogenic liver abscesses (PLA), 3 with parapancreatic abscesses, and 8 with other IAI were included in this study. Compared with the conventional microbial culture of paracentesis fluid, mNGS using paracentesis fluid detected more positive cases of IAI (93.75% vs 81.25%), and identified more species of pathogens, especially in obligate anaerobes and viral pathogens. Peripheral blood mNGS presented a relatively high consistency with the paracentesis fluid mNGS (91% mutual positive). The microbial community structure of PLA patients with diabetes is less diverse than that of those without diabetes. Patients with diabetes are at high risk of PLA caused by Klebsiella pneumonia.

Conclusion

mNGS has advantages in detecting IAI in the emergency department, and peripheral blood mNGS can be a non-invasive choice for early diagnosis.

Isolated splenic mucormycosis secondary to diabetic ketoacidosis: a case report

Background

Mucormycosis is a rare but serious opportunistic fungal infection that occurs in immunocompromised individuals, especially those with diabetic ketoacidosis. Presently, early diagnosis of the disease remains a challenge for clinicians.

Case presentation

The patient, a 68-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus, was admitted with paroxic sharp pain in the left upper abdomen. CT imaging revealed a patchy hypodense shadow of the spleen with wedge-shaped changes. The patient was not considered early for fungal infection. The diagnosis of spleen mucormycosis was not confirmed until pathological biopsy after splenectomy. After surgery, blood glucose level was controlled, acidosis was corrected, and antifungal therapy was effective.

Conclusions

We report here, for the first time ever, a case of isolated splenic mucormycosis secondary to diabetic ketoacidosis that was diagnosed and treated with antifungal drugs and splenectomy. Following splenectomy, the presence of splenic mucormycosis was confirmed when characteristic mycelia were observed in a tissue biopsy. As the location of any fungal infection is extremely relevant for treatment options and prognoses, early diagnosis and clinical intervention can greatly affect outcomes and prognoses for patients.