Primary Cutaneous Aspergillosis in Neonates: Case Report and Review

Abstract

A premature neonate (gestational age, 26 weeks) with multiple prematurity-related problems developed primary cutaneous aspergillosis due to Aspergillus fumigatus on the 30th day of life. The infection developed in an area that had been macerated by adhesive tape. During the infection, renovation of the hospital was in progress near the neonatal intensive care unit. The infection was cured with a short course of therapy with amphotericin B. Five cases of primary cutaneous aspergillosis in neonates have been previously reported in the English-language literature. We review these cases and discuss the risk factors and favorable outcome of the disease when treatment with amphotericin B is instituted.

Soft Tissue Abscess Caused by Aspergillus Fumigatus in an Immunosuppressive Patient

“…Risk factors for invasive aspergillosis include neutropenia, glucocorticoid therapy, advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, chronic granulomatous disease, hematopoietic stem cell or solid-organ transplantation (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Aspergillus infections are also common in premature and newborn infants hospitalized in intensive care according to the literature (20,21). Our presented case is a heart transplant recipient consistent with the literature.…”

Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised children

“…In a large literature review over a period of 20 years on aspergillosis during the first 3 months of life, primary cutaneous and gastrointestinal aspergillosis were reported almost exclusively in premature neonates, and invasive pulmonary and disseminated aspergillosis as well as aspergillosis of the CNS were mainly observed in infants born at term [27,67] Prematurity, CGD, and a complex of diarrhoea, dehydration, malnutrition, and bacterial infections were identified as the main risk factors for developing IA [27]. Distinct clinical features or specific radiographic signs are not present in cases of IA that occur during the first 3 months of life.…”

Chronic systemic aspergillosis in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia

“…However, these patients suffered from aspergillosis which was locally invasive and did not disseminate throughout the body [3,13,16,17,18,22,24]. Furthermore, even though manifestations of aspergillosis within the epidermis have been described previously, in all these cases local impairment of host defense, e.g., by intravenous lines, was responsible for susceptibility to infection [1,17,18].…”