Case Reports. Transient colonization with Scedosporium prolificans. Report of four cases in Madrid

“…In CF patients, various fungi species have been reported to colonize the respiratory tract or to be causative agents of infection. Apart from non- fumigatus Aspergillus species, these species include the opportunistic pathogenic fungi Exophiala dermatitidis [11,12,13,14], P. boydii and S. prolificans [1,15,16,17] as well as soil fungi rarely isolated from human sources, such as Acrophialophora fusispora [18]. The number of cases may be underestimated because slow-growing fungi are overgrown by other microorganisms and/or because the fungi are not recognized by clinical microbiologists because of their slow growth [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective Isolation of Pseudallescheria and Scedosporium Species from Respiratory Tract Specimens of Cystic Fibrosis Patients

et al. 2008

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Background: Fungi of the Pseudallescheria/Scedosporium complex are known to be colonizers and infectious agents of the respiratory tract of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Colonized CF patients are at high risk for the development of disseminated scedosporiosis after lung transplantation. The detection of these fungi may be difficult, because they grow slowly and so will be overgrown by faster-developing microorganisms on the media routinely used in diagnostic laboratories. Objectives: To examine the usefulness of the isolation medium SceSel+ agar as a diagnostic tool for clinical samples from CF patients. Methods: 150 respiratory tract samples from 42 CF patients were inoculated on SceSel+ agar. During the incubation phase, which lasted up to 30 days at 36 ± 1°C, the cultures were inspected every 2 or 3 days. Results: The isolation of Scedosporium species was successful in 3 samples (2%) with standard microbiological media and procedures, while the isolation rate on SceSel+ agar was 5.3% (8 of 150 specimens). Conclusions: Our results suggest that standard microbiological media and procedures are not sufficient to detect colonization of the respiratory tract by Pseudallescheria/Scedosporium in CF patients. By use of SceSel+ agar, fungi belonging to this complex were isolated more frequently. Therefore, this semiselective mycological isolation medium should be used for the detection of these fungi in the respiratory tract of CF patients, especially in patients in whom a fungal infection is assumed or who are scheduled for lung transplantation.

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“…In this study, a high frequency of S. apiospermum was observed (detected in 30.7% of the patients by the array method) ( Table 3), suggesting that colonization by this fungus is underestimated and that, as it may trigger an inflammatory response, the fungus may have a greater pathogenic role in CF patients. The occurrence of S. prolificans in CF patients has been reported mainly in Spain (14,17,35). Scedosporium prolificans was detected in seven patients (17.9%) by the array, while the microorganism was recovered from only one patient (patient 6, specimen 1644) by culture (Table 3).…”

Section: Vol 47 2009 Molecular Detection Of Fungi In Cf Patients 149mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the fungal biota colonizing the airways of CF patients could be even more complex, as suggested by the recent description of two strictly thermophilic fungi, Penicillium emersonii (anamorph state of Talaromyces emersonii) and Acrophialophora fusispora, in these patients (9,11). Additionally, other fungal species seem to be more common in some geographic areas, such as Scedosporium prolificans, which has mainly been reported for CF patients in Spain (14,17,35), and Exophiala dermatitidis, which has been isolated from CF patients in Germany (4,15,25,29,31). Due to the propensity of some of these molds to disseminate in an immunocompromised host and to their usually low susceptibility to current systemic antifungals, it may be important to detect and identify mold species which colonize the respiratory tract of the patients.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an Oligonucleotide Array for Direct Detection of Fungi in Sputum Samples from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

Bouchara

Hsieh

Croquefer³

et al. 2009

J Clin Microbiol

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Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common inherited genetic disease in Caucasian populations. Besides bacteria, many species of fungi may colonize the respiratory tract of these patients, sometimes leading to true respiratory infections. In this study, an oligonucleotide array capable of identifying 20 fungal species was developed to directly detect fungi in the sputum samples of CF patients. Species-specific oligonucleotide probes were designed from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the rRNA operon and immobilized on a nylon membrane. The fungal ITS regions were amplified by PCR and hybridized to the array for species identification. The array was validated by testing 182 target strains (strains which we aimed to identify) and 141 nontarget strains (135 species), and a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 99.2% were obtained. The validated array was then used for direct detection of fungi in 57 sputum samples from 39 CF patients, and the results were compared to those obtained by culture. For 16 sputum samples, the results obtained by the array corresponded with those obtained by culture. For 33 samples, the array detected more fungal species than culture did, while the reverse was found for eight samples. The accuracy of the array for fungal detection in sputum samples was confirmed (or partially confirmed) in some samples by cloning and resequencing the amplified ITS fragments. The present array is a useful tool for both the simultaneous detection of multiple fungal species present in the sputa of CF patients and the identification of fungi isolated from these patients.

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Case Reports. Transient colonization with Scedosporium prolificans. Report of four cases in Madrid

Abstract: Summary. Four cases of transient colonization of the respiratory tract by Scedosporium prolificans are presented, two in patients with cystic fibrosis, one in a liver transplant patient and one in a patient with AIDS. Colonization versus infection by S. prolificans is discussed.

Cited by 20 publications

References 10 publications

Infection withScedosporium apiospermumandS.prolificans, Australia

Infection withScedosporium apiospermumandS.prolificans, Australia

Selective Isolation of <i>Pseudallescheria</i> and <i>Scedosporium </i>Species from Respiratory Tract Specimens of Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Development of an Oligonucleotide Array for Direct Detection of Fungi in Sputum Samples from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

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