Browsing by Subject "mucormycosis"

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    Diagnostic difficulty identifying Apophysomyces trapeziformis septic arthritis in a patient with multiple myeloma.
    (JMM case reports, 2016-12-19) Bertumen, J Bradford; Schell, Wiley A; Joyce, Maria; Alley, Christopher; Woods, Christopher W
    INTRODUCTION:Mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection, but can cause substantial morbidity and mortality in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. Apophysomyces is a mucormycetes species ubiquitous in nature, particularly in soil, decaying wood and other organic matter. Apophysomyces is known to cause cutaneous fungal infections, particularly after penetrating trauma. Septic arthritis is a rare clinical manifestation. CASE PRESENTATION:We describe a case of Apophysomyces trapeziformis causing septic arthritis of the knee of a patient with multiple myeloma. He was treated multiple times for bacterial septic arthritis with minimal improvement. Surgical tissue specimens finally grew mucoraceous mould, and DNA sequencing and morphological assessment of spores identified the mould as A. trapeziformis. The patient was treated with amphotericin B and posaconazole, but ultimately required an above-the-knee amputation for definitive treatment. CONCLUSION:This case illustrates the need to evaluate for fungal infection in a persistent septic arthritis that is culture negative and refractory to empiric antibiotics, particularly in an immunocompromised individual. It also shows the importance of a thorough social history and adequate tissue specimens for culture.
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    Role of isavuconazole in the treatment of invasive fungal infections.
    (Ther Clin Risk Manag, 2016) Wilson, Dustin T; Dimondi, V Paul; Johnson, Steven W; Jones, Travis M; Drew, Richard H
    Despite recent advances in both diagnosis and prevention, the incidence of invasive fungal infections continues to rise. Available antifungal agents to treat invasive fungal infections include polyenes, triazoles, and echinocandins. Unfortunately, individual agents within each class may be limited by spectrum of activity, resistance, lack of oral formulations, significant adverse event profiles, substantial drug-drug interactions, and/or variable pharmacokinetic profiles. Isavuconazole, a second-generation triazole, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in March 2015 and the European Medicines Agency in July 2015 for the treatment of adults with invasive aspergillosis (IA) or mucormycosis. Similar to amphotericin B and posaconazole, isavuconazole exhibits a broad spectrum of in vitro activity against yeasts, dimorphic fungi, and molds. Isavuconazole is available in both oral and intravenous formulations, exhibits a favorable safety profile (notably the absence of QTc prolongation), and reduced drug-drug interactions (relative to voriconazole). Phase 3 studies have evaluated the efficacy of isavuconazole in the management of IA, mucormycosis, and invasive candidiasis. Based on the results of these studies, isavuconazole appears to be a viable treatment option for patients with IA as well as those patients with mucormycosis who are not able to tolerate or fail amphotericin B or posaconazole therapy. In contrast, evidence of isavuconazole for invasive candidiasis (relative to comparator agents such as echinocandins) is not as robust. Therefore, isavuconazole use for invasive candidiasis may initially be reserved as a step-down oral option in those patients who cannot receive other azoles due to tolerability or spectrum of activity limitations. Post-marketing surveillance of isavuconazole will be important to better understand the safety and efficacy of this agent, as well as to better define the need for isavuconazole serum concentration monitoring.