Pseudozyma aphidis bloodstream infection in a patient with aggressive lymphoma and a history of intravenous drug use: Case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Pseudozyma aphidis is an environmental fungus which causes opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients. Here we report the case of a 54-year-old, intravenous drug user woman, newly diagnosed to have an aggressive lymphoma, who developed a bloodstream infection caused by P. aphidis treated successfully with amphotericin-B therapy. The precise identification was assessed by sequencing. We propose to consider intravenous drug use as a risk factor for invasive infections due to this environmental yeast.

Keywords

• Pseudozyma aphidis
• Fungemia
• Intravenous drug use
• Basidiomycete yeasts
• Antifungal resistance