Deep skin infection of Scedosporium apiospermum in a patient with refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

Abstract

Infection of Scedosporium apiospermum is very rare but is now emerging as an important cause of both localized and disseminated infections in immunocompromised patients. A 62-year-old woman, who had undergone steroid therapy for refractory idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and had a history of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, developed a deep skin ulcer complicated with lymphangitis. After culture study demonstrated the presence of S. apiospermum, voriconazole (VRCZ) was administered and prompt improvement was observed. Because it is difficult to distinguish S. apiospermum from Aspergillus by histopathology and S. apiospermum is resistant to amphotericin B, VRCZ should be selected as the first choice of antifungal agent when mold is considered to be the causative organism. © 2011 The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine.