FATAL AEROMONAS-HYDROPHILA BACTEREMIA IN A HEMODIALYSIS PATIENT TREATED WITH DEFEROXAMINE

A 49-year-old woman undergoing long-term hemodialysis and treated with deferoxamine (DFO) 1.5 g twice weekly for aluminum bone disease devel oped fever and bilateral calf pain caused by myonecrosis with gas gang rene, She had a rapidly fatal outcome. The cultures of blood and aspir ates from both calf muscles demonstrated Aeromonas hydrophila. No obvi ous entry point could be traced. The in vitro growth of the patient's strain was found to be stimulated by the deferoxamine-iron complex in an iron-deprived medium. It is suggested that high-dose DFO therapy in this patient was responsible for promoting a bacterial infection by t his microorganism. (C) 1996 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.