Congenital Mycosis <i>(Candida albicans)</i>

Abstract

Four new cases of congenital mycosis are described. Fifteen cases were found in the litterature. Although this fetal infection appears to be scarce, its frequency is probably underestimated. Because of the nature of lesions, it is possible to assume that Candida albicans ascends from the vagina through clinically undamaged membranes. The newborn may be a well-developed term baby, a premature, or a small-for-date baby; even miscarriage may happen. The physiopathology of this infection is discussed.

Congenital cutaneous candidiasis: Report of four cases and review of the literature

“…The antifungal therapy is always topical and oral. There is no need for parenteral treatment [2,3,9,[14][15][16][17][18]. As in previously reported series, most newborns (100% in our series) had antecedents of maternal vulvovaginitis.…”

“…Tables i and 2 show the comparison between our four cases and the reported series. The clinical manifestations of C C C are characterized by early skin lesions, though exceptionally they may appear between the 4th and 6th day of life [3,5,[14][15][16][17][18]. The skin rash is a diffuse pinkish maculopapular eruption which evolves to vesicles and pustules with subsequent extensive desquamation.…”

“…Different evolutive stages may co-exist in the same area of the body, even at birth. There is a p r e d o m i n a n t distribution in the upper half of the body and palms and soles are almost always affected [2,3,5,6,9,[14][15][16][17][18]. Usually, the lesions disappear within 5-20 days.…”

“…Parenteral antifungal therapy was not administered. Because of respiratory distress and clinical signs of a References [2,3,5,6,9,12,[14][15][16][17][18] sepsis, these infants received antibiotic therapy with ampicillin and gentamicin, which was withdrawn after 48 h as soon as bacterial infection was ruled out and Candida albicans was identified.…”

“…It has been estimated that 25% of pregnant women suffer from candida vulvovaginitis and that up to 50% of their offspring show clinical signs of mucocutaneous candidiasis [3,7,12,14,18]. However, strictly speaking, the real incidence of congenital cutaneous candidiasis (CCC) is unknown.…”