DISSEMINATED MYCOSIS DUE TO SCEDOSPORIUM PROLIFICANS IN AN AIDS PATIENT WITH BURKITT-LYMPHOMA

A case of fatal disseminated infection caused by the dematiaceous hyph omycete Scedosporium prolificans diagnosed post mortem is reported in a 60-year-old male patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who additionally suffered from Burkitt's lymphoma. The patient was signif icantly granulocytopenic following aggressive chemotherapy and irradia tion. He developed dyspnoea at rest and chest pain despite a normal ch est radiograph. Fluconazole treatment was carried out empirically beca use no sign of a fungal infection was detected ante mortem, either by mycological cultivation or by serological investigation. First post-mo rtem examination revealed a disseminated fungal infection involving th e central nervous system. Scedosporium prolificans was cultured from t he kidney, spleen and myocardium. In vitro, the fungal isolate was fou nd to be highly resistant to all available systemic antimycotics.