Trichosporon Infection

Abstract

Yeast exist throughout nature in association with soil, plants, mammals, and fish. As a result of this continued exposure, all humans are exposed to many different types of yeast through a variety of different routes. Recently, because of the increased population of immunocompromised patients and the extensive use of different antifungals, the incidence of infections due to non-Candida yeast has increased. Of these classic "nonpathogenic" yeast, Trichosporon species have been increasingly described producing deep-seated and disseminated infections that are difficult to predict and diagnose. In addition, the different species of Trichosporon have been found to be less susceptible or resistant to commonly used antifungals. Because of this intrinsic variation in antifungal susceptibility and the fact that these infections are generally seen in severely immunocompromised hosts, they are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, despite their known "nonpathogenic" characteristics described in superficial infections.

Disseminated Trichosporonosis in a Burn Patient: Meningitis and Cerebral Abscess Due to Trichosporon asahii

“…Failure to invade other organ tissues may have been reflective of the blood cultures being repeatedly negative. A positive blood culture and the presence of characteristic fungal elements typical of Trichosporon species in internal organ tissues frequently support the diagnosis of disseminated infection (20,21). In the present case, a diagnosis of invasive disease was based on typical fungal elements of T. asahii in stained histologic sections of the meninges.…”

“…These fungi are rarely seen in human infections, and to date, just over 100 disseminated cases caused by T. asahii have been reported in the literature worldwide (21). The vast majority of these cases have been reported in leukemia or lymphoma patients who developed severe depletion of neutrophils (11,21). Our report describes the first case fatality due to disseminated T. asahii infection seen at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Jamaica.…”

“…asahii and other members of the genus Trichosporon are basidiomycetous yeasts characterized by the production of true hyphae and pseudohyphae, arthroconidia, and blastoconidia (5,9). These fungi are rarely seen in human infections, and to date, just over 100 disseminated cases caused by T. asahii have been reported in the literature worldwide (21). The vast majority of these cases have been reported in leukemia or lymphoma patients who developed severe depletion of neutrophils (11,21).…”

“…However, significant taxonomic revision in the early 1990s divided T. beigelii into several species, including T. asahii, and presumably, a significant number of the cases reported prior to the revision may have been due to T. asahii infection (8,9,13). Since the first case report of invasive disease in 1970, disseminated infections have been increasingly recognized in systemic illnesses of immunocompromised patients (4,21,23).…”

A Trichosporon asahii Bloodstream Infection in a Preterm Newborn with a Successful Outcome: A Case Report

“…Six Trichosporon species (T. asahii, T. asteroides, T. cutaneum, T. inkin, T. mucoides, and T. ovoides) cause superficial and/ or invasive infections. T. asahii is the most frequent Trichosporon species involved in disseminated human infections [5][6][7][8][9][10]. To date, only few cases of Trichosporon asahii fungemia were reported in Saudi Arabia [11].…”