Soft Tissue Abscess Caused by Aspergillus Fumigatus in an Immunosuppressive Patient

Abstract

Aspergillosis is a definition including a wide variety of diseases caused by fungi in the genus Aspergillus. Aspergillosis that occurs especially in neutropenic and immunosuppressive patient is an opportunistic infection with a very high mortality rate. In this study, we presented a case of primary cutaneous aspergillosis that caused in a heart transplant recipient. Thirty-nine-years-old male patient with the complaints of high fever lasting for ten days, redness of the right thigh, swelling, and pain, was admitted to our hospital. By the tissue ultrasonography of right thigh, 3x12 cm in size of septated intensive fluid collection (abscess?) in muscle tissue at a depth of 1.5 cm to the skin surface was reported. The biopsy specimens that were taken from the lesion sent to microbiology and pathology laboratories. The branching septate hyphae were observed in Hematoxylin-Eosin and Gram stained preparations. Aspergillus fumigatus was isolated and identified from the biopsy specimen. The patient’s symptoms were regressed rapidly and the lesion was improved by surgical debridement and antifungal agent (amphotericin B) therapy. In the light of this case report, we were emphasized that microbiologic examination and culture have an important role for diagnosis of cutaneous aspergillosis.