MALASSEZIA FUNGEMIA AFTER BONE-MARROW TRA NSPLANTATION

Background. - Systemic Malassezia furfur (Mf) infections are only seen in neonates and immunocompromised patients. Case report. - A 2-year-8 -month-old boy was given chemotherapy for mediastinal T cell lymphoma. Meningeal relapse supervened 10 months later, requiring polychemother apy plus CNS irradiation followed by bone marrow transplantation. Thre e days after transplantation, fever associated with neutropenia requir ed administration of ceftazidime, amikacin, vancomycin plus acyclovir followed by amphotericin B, cefotaxime plus erythromycin. Blood cultur es were negative, but blood swears showed yeasts into polynuclear cell s after cytocentrifugation; these yeasts were also present in the cent ral catheter removed after a few days course of amphotericin B, flucyt osine plus fluconazole. The patient was then given GM-CSF subcutaneous ly (5 mug/kg/day), followed by progressive correction of aplasia and c ure of the Mf infection. Conclusion. - This is a new case of systemic Mf infection seen in an immunocompromised child receiving parenteral n utrition with lipids.