Mesenteric abscess caused by coinfection with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin and Phialemonium sp. in chronic granulomatous disease

Abstract

Opportunistic infections are life-threatening conditions in immunocompromised patients including those with primary immunodeficiency. We describe a case of X-linked chronic granulomatous disease presenting with mesenteric abscess caused by a coinfection with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and Phialemonium sp. The patient received BCG vaccination at 5 months old. He developed left axillary BCG lymphadenitis at 17 months of age, and 3 months later mesenteric abscess occurred. Concomitant use of rifampicin and itraconazole at 17 months of age might have reduced serum itraconazole concentrations and led to superinfection with Phialemonium sp. in our patient, which was susceptible to itraconazole and voriconazole in vitro . The patient was successfully treated with a combination of isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin, ciprofloxacin, prednisolone, interferon-γ, and an increased dose of itraconazole, followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Our results suggest that clinician need to be aware of rifampicin drug interactions, and that precise detection and identification of pathogens are essential to appropriate treatment.