Candida bloodstream infection is the major cause of increased morbidity and mortality (20–49%) in hospitalized patients in both paediatric and adult age groups. Due to the increase in the number of immunocompromised patients, other important species such as Trichosporon asahii and Debaryomyces hansenii are emerging. One such organism, Wickerhamomyces anomalous, previously known as Pichia anomala (teleomorph stages of several Candida species), is increasingly being reported as a cause of fungemia in neonatal intensive care units and is now increasingly being reported in a lot of immunosuppressive conditions such as interstitial lung disease, endocarditis, enteritis, corticosteroids, and chemotherapy uptake. Though this yeast is ubiquitous in nature, systemic infections from isolated cases and sporadic outbreaks with high mortality have been reported in ICUs, which emphasize the importance to consider this fungus within the diagnostic possibilities. Here, we report a case of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) caused by W. anomalus in a leukemic immunosuppressed patient who was successfully treated by early detection and treatment of this emerging fungus.

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the commonest cancer in children. The survival rates in pediatric ALL have improved to 80-90% in high-income countries, where the goal of current risk-adapted treatment protocols is to minimize treatment-related mortality. In contrast, cure/survival rates are still lower in low-income countries, due to combined effect of disease-related factors, high incidence of treatment abandonment, higher rates of relapse, & higher treatment-related mortality. The Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) protocol versions are commonly used for treatment of pediatric ALL in many centers. There is no published data on treatment outcomes with ALL IC-BFM 2009 protocol in pediatric ALL in India. Objective: The study aims to evaluate the treatment outcomes in Indian pediatric ALL/LBL patients treated with ALL IC-BFM 2009 protocol under severe resource-limited settings, in terms of morphological complete remission (CR), minimal residual disease (MRD) status, and disease-free survival. Methods: Our study enrolled 25 newly diagnosed pediatric ALL/LBL patients (age ≤18 years) between February 2018 & June 2019. Induction chemotherapy was initiated as per ALL IC-BFM 2009 protocol after obtaining informed consent. Risk stratification was done as per protocol into standard risk (SR), intermediate risk (IR), and high risk (HR) groups, based on age, baseline leukocyte count, cytogenetics & molecular study findings, day 8 steroid response (peripheral blood absolute blast count), bone marrow MRD by flowcytometry on day 15, and bone marrow morphological response on days 15 & 33 of induction phase. Additional imaging was done to assess response in LBL patients. Central nervous system (CNS)-directed therapy with intrathecal chemotherapy was administered as per protocol. Post-induction therapy consisted of an augmented early intensification phase, risk-adapted consolidation therapy phase, a delayed intensification (reinduction) phase, & maintenance phase. Therapeutic cranial radiation (18 Gy) was administered only to patients with documented CNS leukemia. Results: Of the total 25 patients, 17 had B-ALL, six had T-ALL & two had T-LBL. Median age of patients was 9 years (2-18 years), with 11 boys & 14 girls. All the patients had BCR-ABL negative disease; three patients had t(12;21)(p13;q22)/ETV6-RUNX1. Seven patients (28%) had hyperleukocytosis (leukocyte count >1,00,000/µL) and two patients had CNS leukemia at presentation. Nine out of the 25 patients (36%) were in high risk group as per criteria. Eight patients (32%) had poor steroid response on day 8 of induction (PB blasts ≥ 1000/µL). Six patients had M3 marrow on day 15 (>25% blasts in marrow). Day 15 bone marrow MRD was <0.1% in 13 patients (52%), >0.1% in 7 patients (28%) and could not be done in 5 patients (including the two T-LBL patients). Twenty-three out of 25 patients (92%) achieved morphological CR (marrow blasts <5%) on day 33. There were two deaths in induction; both patients were not in CR as per day 33 bone marrow morphology criteria. One B-ALL patient in HR group died of early medullary relapse. The remaining 22 patients are in CR & doing well on follow up, and four of them have started maintenance phase therapy. The results are summarized in Table 1. Conclusion: Our preliminary results with ALL IC-BFM 2009 treatment protocol in Indian pediatric ALL/LBL patients are encouraging, with 92% complete remission rate, 88% disease-free survival and manageable treatment-related toxicity in spite of severe resource constraints. Long-term follow up & enrollment of higher number of patients is planned. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Background: An anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) involving the cervical spine and leading to quadriplegia is very rare. Case Description: A 48-year-old immunocompetent male presented with quadriplegia that warranted an anterior cervical corpectomy/fusion. He was previously being presumptively treated for cervical disease attributed to tuberculosis. The histopathology and immunohistochemistry revealed an ALCL that was anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) negative. The patient had a favorable response to surgery followed by CHOEP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, and prednisolone) chemotherapy. Conclusion: ALK-negative ALCL presenting with quadriplegia due to primary involvement of cervical spine is extremely rare, but must be diagnosed and appropriately managed.

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Cryptosporidium infection is usually self-limiting but can be life-threatening in immunocompromised patients. It has emerged as an important cause of diarrhea in such patients worldwide. In this report, we describe a case of Cryptosporidium diarrhea in a child on induction therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); timely diagnosis using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) led to definitive treatment and a favorable outcome in our patient.

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