ABSTRACT
This is the first report of the yeast Apiotrichum veenhuisii (formerly Trichosporon veenhuisii) causing disease in humans; its virulence and in vitro behavior against antifungals were also studied. The sample was isolated from biopsy fragments of disseminated lesions on the skin of a pediatric patient with acute myeloid leukemia. The studied virulence factors evidenced that the strain tested negative for secretion of the enzymes proteinase, phospholipase, and hemolysin. The isolate was characterized as low biofilm producer. Except for amphotericin B and voriconazole, the sample presented high minimum inhibitory concentration values against azole and echinocandins.
Subject(s)
Basidiomycota/classification , Basidiomycota/isolation & purification , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/complications , Mycoses/diagnosis , Mycoses/microbiology , Adolescent , Antifungal Agents/pharmacology , Basidiomycota/drug effects , Basidiomycota/growth & development , Biofilms/growth & development , Biopsy , Drug Resistance, Fungal , Humans , Male , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Skin/microbiology , Skin/pathology , Virulence Factors/analysisABSTRACT
Fusarium species have emerged as responsible for a broad spectrum of infections, including superficial, locally invasive and disseminated ones, especially in the hospital environment. Since there are few reports of invasive and disseminated fusariosis in children, the aim of this study was to report four cases of nosocomial infection caused by this microorganism in children with cancer hospitalized in a public children's hospital located in Brazil. Two of these patients were female and two were male. All patients presented febrile neutropenia, while three patients had acute lymphocytic leukemia and one patient had Wilms' tumor as underlying disease. In two cases, fungi were isolated from blood and identified as Fusarium oxysporum species complex after phenotypic and genotypic studies, while in two other cases fungi were isolated from skin biopsies and identified as Fusarium solani species complex. One patient died 12 days after the onset of cutaneous lesions. All isolates, after susceptibility testing, presented high levels of minimum inhibitory concentration for itraconazole, voriconazole and amphotericin B. Considering the emergence of filamentous fungi as etiologic agents of nosocomial infections, health professionals should be aware of the problems these infections, especially fungal ones, may cause to debilitated patients.
