Fatal mycotic aneurysm caused by Pseudallescheria boydii after near drowning

Abstract

Pseudallescheria boydii is a rare cause of mycotic infection. Factors predisposing to systemic infection include traumas, immunosuppression, and near drowning. We report a case of multiple aneurysms caused by this hyalohyphomycete, occurred after near drowning. The car driven by a 53-year-old woman plunged into a canal in The Netherlands. After a 20-min-long submersion, the woman was rescued. At hospital, a severe aspiration of muddy water and a mycotic pneumonia were diagnosed. Despite the immediate prescription of a long-term antimycotic therapy and the initial good response, the patient died 4 months later. The autopsy showed a mycotic aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and multiple ruptured mycotic aneurysms of the circle of Willis with fatal subarachnoid bleeding.