An outbreak of Pichia ohmeri infection in the paediatric intensive care unit: case reports and review of the literature

Abstract

Since the first report in 1998, 10 cases of Pichia ohmeri infection have been reported in the literature. Here we present two new cases of P. ohmeri infection in the paediatric age group. The first case was an 8-month-old male infant, who was admitted with fever, convulsions and altered consciousness. Conservative therapy was started with a presumptive diagnosis of encephalitis. The patient failed to respond to the given treatments and died on the 21st day of hospitalisation. The second case was a 10-year-old male with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He was hospitalised with neutropenic fever. He was discharged after 3 weeks of therapy. In both cases P. ohmeri was identified in blood samples. Growing evidence indicates that P. ohmeri should be added to the lengthening list of opportunistic fungal pathogens that can cause infection in all ages, including infants, and particularly in those who are immunocompromised.

Kodamaea ohmeri Isolates from Patients in a University Hospital: Identification, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Analysis

“…Similar to findings in previous reports (3,7), in this study all of the isolates of K. ohmeri were susceptible to amphotericin. In addition, the isolates demonstrated low susceptibility to fluconazole and itraconazole, with some isolates showing a dose-dependent response (Table 2).…”

“…Kodamaea (Pichia) ohmeri, an ascosporogenous yeast and a teleomorph of Candida guilliermondii var. membranaefaciens, is an environmental strain commonly used in the food industry for the fermentation of pickles, rinds, and fruit; however, it is also an emerging fungal pathogen, particularly in immunocompromised patients (3,7). To date, 12 cases of K. ohmeri infection have been reported, including nine cases presenting with fungemia plus two cases that occurred as a nosocomial cluster (3,7,12).…”

“…membranaefaciens, is an environmental strain commonly used in the food industry for the fermentation of pickles, rinds, and fruit; however, it is also an emerging fungal pathogen, particularly in immunocompromised patients (3,7). To date, 12 cases of K. ohmeri infection have been reported, including nine cases presenting with fungemia plus two cases that occurred as a nosocomial cluster (3,7,12). Although molecular biological techniques that allow more precise identification and genotyping of yeast species have recently been developed, little research has been conducted on identifying and genotyping the clinical isolates of K. ohmeri.…”

Pichia farinosa Bloodstream Infection in a Lymphoma Patient

“…Colonization of oral mucosa with P. farinosa was reported for two immunocompromised patients (6,14). In recent years, the number of reports of human infections caused by other Pichia species, including Pichia anomala (2,5,13), Pichia ohmeri (11,12), and Pichia fabianii (3), has increased. In most of these studies (2,5,11,12), Pichia species were first correctly diagnosed by phenotypic methods.…”

“…In recent years, the number of reports of human infections caused by other Pichia species, including Pichia anomala (2,5,13), Pichia ohmeri (11,12), and Pichia fabianii (3), has increased. In most of these studies (2,5,11,12), Pichia species were first correctly diagnosed by phenotypic methods. In one study (3), phenotypic methods, including the use of the API 20 C AUX identification system (bioMérieux, France), failed to identify P.…”