Sepsis and meningoencephalitis due to <i> Rhodotorula glutinis</i> in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus, diagnosed at autopsy

Abstract

Rhodotorula species have been reported as a causative agent of opportunistic mycoses in immunocompromised hosts. We report a case of sepsis and meningoencephalitis caused by Rhodotorula glutinis in a 20-year-old female patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), which was diagnosed at autopsy. The patient presented with longstanding fever. She was diagnosed with SLE after admission to the hospital and died on day 5 of the hospital stay. Autopsy was performed to confirm the presence of infection. Sepsis and meningoencephalitis due to Rhodotorula glutinis was confirmed by postmortem blood cultures and histopathological examination of biopsies taken from the brain at autopsy. Infection by Rhodotorula spp. is rare but can be fatal in immunocompromised hosts. Infections by such uncommon yeasts may often be difficult to diagnose, especially in the setting of febrile neutropenia. This report also emphasizes the value of autopsy as a powerful educational tool.

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa infections in a tertiary-Care facility

“…infections in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), cancer, leukaemia, etc. [10] Documented Rhodotorula infections include fungaemia (79%), endocarditis, eye infections (7.03%) (keratitis, endopthalmitis, dacryocystitis, corneal infections), ventriculitis, meningitis (3.9%), peritonitis, etc., Rare cases include hydrosalphingitis, orthopaedic prosthesis infection, disseminated infection with bone-marrow involvement. [11,12] But few epidemiological studies have described Rhodotorula as the aetiological agent in 0.5-2.3% cases of fungaemia.…”

A successful management of dengue fever in pregnancy: Report of two cases

“…The normal haematocrit range in pregnant women may be as low as 34% (normal for a non-pregnant woman is 37%-47%). [2] This discrepancy has been explained by the physiologic anemia of pregnancy.…”

“…Pneumonia caused by Nocardia occasionally simulates a mass that may mimic tuberculosis, staphylococcal or mycotic infections or even neoplasia. [1] Pulmonary infection by this pathogen may thus be difÞ cult to diagnose based on clinical and radiological features as these are not speciÞ c. [2] We report a case of pulmonary nocardiosis in an immunocompromised patient, diagnosed by auramine O and modiÞ ed Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining of the material obtained by Þ ne-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of right lung.…”

“…infection can be successfully treated with amphotericin B, 5 ß uorocytosine (5 -FC) and azoles like itraconazole. [2] Relapse with Rhodotorula meningitis was reported by Gyaurgieva et al, [3] which was successfully treated with suppressive therapy with itraconazole followed by maintenance therapy. Our patient also responded to amphotericin B and was discharged after recovery.…”

Microbial Allergy with Special Focus on Saudi Arabia

“…Rhodotorula spp. can cause opportunistic mycoses in immunocompromised patients and meningitis in HIV infected patients (Pamidimukkala et al, 2007;Thakur et al, 2007). Aspergillus terreus, a less common pathogen causes aspergillosis with severe neutropenia (Tokimatsu et al, 2007).…”