MyMedR

Cavernous sinus fungal infection: a rare case

Ng BHK, Kho GS, Sim SK, Liew DNS, Tang IP

Br J Neurosurg, 2017 Jun 09.

PMID: 28597698 DOI: 10.1080/02688697.2017.1335857

Intracranial fungal infection of the cavernous sinus is a condition that usually affects immunocompromised individuals and is rarely seen in immunocompetent individuals. It is a potentially life threatening condition which requires prompt treatment. Here we present a case of an immunocompetent patient with a fungal infection of the cavernous sinus.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Cerebral toxoplasmosis in Malaysia: a debilitating disease, an insight from a case study

Muslim A, Mohd Rustam FR, Mohd Khalid MS, Sahlan N

Trop Biomed, 2024 Sep 01;41(3):271-275.

PMID: 39548780 DOI: 10.47665/tb.41.3.006

Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. While the infection is typically asymptomatic in healthy individuals, it can progress to cerebral toxoplasmosis, especially in those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or weakened immune systems. In this communication, we present a case of a newly diagnosed HIV infection patient who presented with neurological symptoms. The patient was later diagnosed with probable cerebral toxoplasmosis. The case depicts the severe consequences of toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised patients, highlighting the urgent need to identify those at high risk of contracting the disease and the importance of prophylactic treatment. This requires the necessity for early HIV diagnosis and close monitoring of HIV-positive patients.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext Non-sporulating Chrysosporium: an opportunistic fungal infection in a neutropenic patient

Gan GG, Kamarulzaman A, Goh KY, Ng KP, Na SL, Soo-Hoo TS

Med J Malaysia, 2002 Mar;57(1):118-22.

PMID: 14569730

We report a case of an invasive infection with non-sporulating Chrysosporium species in a patient who was treated with chemotherapy for relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This patient presented with a persistent lobar pneumonia, skin lesions, and possible involvement of the central nervous system. The patient responded to treatment with amphotericin B and oral itraconazole.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host*

Prevention of infection in the immunocompromised

Lim VK

Ann Acad Med Singap, 1997 May;26(3):331-5.

PMID: 9285028

Infection is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. The high risk of infection is not only the consequence of the underlying disease but also the result of the diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutic procedures performed on these patients. Infections may be exogenous or endogenous in origin. The prevention of exogenous infections requires a high standard of hygiene. As many infections are acquired in hospitals, an effective control of nosocomial infection programme is crucial in preventing infections in the immunocompromised. Prevention of endogenous infections involves suppression of the aerobic bacterial flora (selective decontamination) and measures to maintain gastrointestinal epithelial integrity to reduce risk of translocation of intestinal flora. Boosting the host immunity through passive and active immunisation should also be considered. Prevention of infection in the immunocompromised is no easy task and requires a multidisciplinary approach.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host*

Fulltext Disseminated histoplasmosis mimicking miliary tuberculosis: a case report

Chan KS, Looi LM, Chan SP

Malays J Pathol, 1993 Dec;15(2):155-8.

PMID: 8065179

A 35-year-old Chinese man who was known to have insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus was admitted for fever and weight loss. During his hospital stay, he fell to his death from his ward at the twelfth floor. The clinical features, radiological findings and gross organ changes at autopsy closely simulated miliary tuberculosis. Histology, however, revealed extensive necrosis of the adrenal glands, lungs, spleen, kidneys and thyroid associated with the presence of Histoplasma capsulatum organisms. This case highlights the similarity both clinically and pathologically between histoplasmosis and tuberculosis and emphasizes the need to be aware of this infection in a nonendemic area among patients with a compromised immune system.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host*

Fulltext Acute abdomen in the immunocompromised patient: WSES, SIS-E, WSIS, AAST, and GAIS guidelines

Coccolini F, Improta M, Sartelli M, Rasa K, Sawyer R, Coimbra R, et al.

World J Emerg Surg, 2021 08 09;16(1):40.

PMID: 34372902 DOI: 10.1186/s13017-021-00380-1

Immunocompromised patients are a heterogeneous and diffuse category frequently presenting to the emergency department with acute surgical diseases. Diagnosis and treatment in immunocompromised patients are often complex and must be multidisciplinary. Misdiagnosis of an acute surgical disease may be followed by increased morbidity and mortality. Delayed diagnosis and treatment of surgical disease occur; these patients may seek medical assistance late because their symptoms are often ambiguous. Also, they develop unique surgical problems that do not affect the general population. Management of this population must be multidisciplinary.This paper presents the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES), Surgical Infection Society Europe (SIS-E), World Surgical Infection Society (WSIS), American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST), and Global Alliance for Infection in Surgery (GAIS) joined guidelines about the management of acute abdomen in immunocompromised patients.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host*

Fulltext The crucial role of molecular testing to facilitate the diagnosis of pneumocystis pneumonia during pregnancy

Ding CH, Yusoff H, Muttaqillah NAS, Tang YL, Tan TL, Periyasamy P, et al.

Malays J Pathol, 2018 Apr;40(1):69-72.

PMID: 29704387 MyJurnal

Pneumocystis pneumonia is an important human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated opportunistic infection, and especially so in pregnant HIV-positive patients. We report a case of a 40-year-old woman in her first trimester of pregnancy who initially presented with acute gastroenteritis symptoms but due to a history of high-risk behaviour and the observation of oral thrush, she was worked up for HIV infection. Her retroviral status was positive and her CD4+ T cell count was only 8 cells/µL. She was also worked up for pneumocystis pneumonia due to the presence of mild resting tachypnoea and a notable drop in oxygen saturation (from 100% to 88%) following brief ambulation. Her chest radiograph revealed bilaterally symmetrical lower zone reticular opacities and Giemsa staining of her bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was negative for Pneumocystis jirovecii cysts. However, real-time P. jirovecii polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on the same BAL specimen revealed the presence of the organism. A course of oral co-trimoxazole plus prednisolone was commenced and her clinical condition improved.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host*

Fulltext Cutaneous tuberculosis mimicking cellulitis in an immunosuppressed patient

Chin PW, Koh CK, Wong KT

Singapore Med J, 1999 Jan;40(1):44-5.

PMID: 10361486

A 28-year-old lady suffering from systemic lupus erythomatosus (SLE) with diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis (DPGN) and who was on oral cyclophosphamide and prednisolone presented with left lower limb 'cellulitis'. The 'cellulitis' of the left lower limb failed to respond to usual antibiotics which prompted evaluation of the clinical diagnosis. The diagnosis is made based on the presence of granulomas, multinucleated giant cells and acid fast bacilli on the skin biopsy.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host*

Fulltext A rare case of Tuberculous Prostatitis

Nurul Yaqeen Esa, Mohammad Hanafiah, Marymol Koshy, Hilmi Abdullah, Ahmad Izuanuddin Ismail, Mohamed Fauzi Abdul Rani

Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2016;1:33-36.

Tuberculous prostatitis is an uncommon form of tuberculosis infection. It is commonly seen in immunocompromised patients and in those of middle or advanced age. The diagnosis is often not straight forward due to the nature of its presentation. We report a case of tuberculous prostatitis in a young, healthy and immunocompetent patient, who initially presented with respiratory features, followed by episodes of seizures and testicular swelling. He was finally diagnosed with tuberculous prostatitis after prostatic biopsy. This case illustrates that in a high TB prevalence environment, when symptoms warrant, there should be a high clinical suspicion coupled with a thorough approach in order to arrive at a correct diagnosis of TB prostatitis.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext Hidden germ of the immunocompromised: a case of fungal orbital cellulitis

Er, L.Z., Johar, M.J.

Medicine & Health, 2019;14(2):266-270.

MyJurnal

Orbital cellulitis is an infection of the orbital soft tissue that could possibly lead to serious complications if treatment is delayed. It is important to differentiate this condition from a less life-threatening condition like preseptal cellulitis as orbital cellulitis would require a more aggressive treatment than the former condition. The present case discusses about a patient who was diagnosed with orbital cellulitis and developed complications from the disease. The delayed administration of the appropriate antibiotic subsequently led to the patient’s death. The delay was because of the reason that the patient belonged to the immunocompromised group who harbour different causative organism than the normal population.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext A rare case of Tuberculous Prostatitis

Nurul Yaqeen Esa, Mohammad Hanafiah, Marymol Koshy, Hilmi Abdullah, Ahmad Izuanuddin Ismail, Mohamed Fauzi Abdul Rani

Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2016;1(2):33-36.

MyJurnal

Tuberculous prostatitis is an uncommon form of tuberculosis infection. It is commonly seen in immunocompromised patients and in those of middle or advanced age. The diagnosis is often not straight forward due to the nature of its presentation. We report a case of tuberculous prostatitis in a young, healthy and immunocompetent patient, who initially presented with respiratory features, followed by episodes of seizures and testicular swelling. He was finally diagnosed with tuberculous prostatitis after prostatic biopsy. This case illustrates that in a high TB prevalence environment, when symptoms warrant, there should be a high clinical suspicion coupled with a thorough approach in order to arrive at a correct diagnosis of TB prostatitis.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext The Molecular Approaches and Challenges of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotyping for Epidemiological Surveillance in the Vaccine Era

Abdul Rahman NA, Mohd Desa MN, Masri SN, Taib NM, Sulaiman N, Hazman H, et al.

Pol J Microbiol, 2023 Jun 01;72(2):103-115.

PMID: 37314355 DOI: 10.33073/pjm-2023-023

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) belongs to the Gram-positive cocci. This bacterium typically colonizes the nasopharyngeal region of healthy individuals. It has a distinct polysaccharide capsule - a virulence factor allowing the bacteria to elude the immune defense mechanisms. Consequently, it might trigger aggressive conditions like septicemia and meningitis in immunocompromised or older individuals. Moreover, children below five years of age are at risk of morbidity and mortality. Studies have found 101 S. pneumoniae capsular serotypes, of which several correlate with clinical and carriage isolates with distinct disease aggressiveness. Introducing pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) targets the most common disease-associated serotypes. Nevertheless, vaccine selection pressure leads to replacing the formerly dominant vaccine serotypes (VTs) by non-vaccine types (NVTs). Therefore, serotyping must be conducted for epidemiological surveillance and vaccine assessment. Serotyping can be performed using numerous techniques, either by the conventional antisera-based (Quellung and latex agglutination) or molecular-based approaches (sequetyping, multiplex PCR, real-time PCR, and PCR-RFLP). A cost-effective and practical approach must be used to enhance serotyping accuracy to monitor the prevalence of VTs and NVTs. Therefore, dependable pneumococcal serotyping techniques are essential to precisely monitor virulent lineages, NVT emergence, and genetic associations of isolates. This review discusses the principles, associated benefits, and drawbacks of the respective available conventional and molecular approaches, and potentially the whole genome sequencing (WGS) to be directed for future exploration.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext Fusarium sp. infection in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Tan R, Ng KP, Gan GG, Na SL

Med J Malaysia, 2013 Dec;68(6):479-80.

PMID: 24632920 MyJurnal

In the past two decades, Fusarium species have been increasingly recognized as serious pathogens in immunocompromised patients. The outcome of fusariosis in the context of severe persistent neutropaenia has been almost universally fatal. The treatment of fusariosis in immunocompromised patients remains a challenge and the prognosis of systemic fusariosis in this population remains poor. This report presents a case of fatal fusariosis in a 37- year-old patient who was diagnosed with precursor-B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext Ochrobactrum anthropi bacteremia with variable clinical course: report of two cases

Durga Arinandini Arimuthu, Christopher Thiam Seong Lim

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2020;16(1):339-341.

MyJurnal

Ochrobactrum anthropi is a rare nosocomial pathogen that is manifesting itself mostly in immunocompromised patients and those with indwelling catheters. Identification of the microorganism is challenging and the ability to survive in aquatic surroundings have made it a clinically significant pathogen. Furthermore, the clinical picture of
O. anthropi infection, is not well described. It may manifest in any form of clinical infections though bacteremia is the most common mode of presentation reported in the limited literature. We report here two cases of O. anthropi bacteremia presenting in an immunocompetent and an immunocompromised host respectively with different clini- cal manifestation and response. In view of the highly variable presentation of O.anthropi, a high index of suspicion must be given to at risks patients to ensure the timely diagnosis and optimal clinical outcome.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext A case report of Intramuscular Abscess Secondary to Epicoccum Nigrum infection

Azira NMS, Zeehaida M, Nazli Z, Suraiya S

Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2016;1:48-51.

A 36-year-old man with underlying chronic lymphocytic leukemia had left arm swelling for a duration of 3 months. Clinically, the affected arm was swollen, erythematous and tender. Epicoccum nigrum was isolated from the culture of the tissue that was obtained intraoperatively. He was treated and responded to voriconazole therapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of intramuscular abscess as a result of E. nigrum infection in an immunocompromised patient.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext Parapharyngeal Abscess in Immunocompromised Patients

Gani, A.N., Abdullah, A., Hazim, M.Y.S., Rozman, Z.

Medicine & Health, 2007;2(2):158-163.

MyJurnal

Parapharyngeal abscess is a serious medical condition that may lead to life-threatening complications. Its incidence has dramatically decreased since the advent of antibiotics. We report two cases of parapharyngeal abscesses in immunocompromised patients. We believe that early diagnosis, broad-spectrum antibiotics, surgery and pus drainage can prevent serious complications.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext Acanthamoeba encephalitis in an immunocompetent child and review of the imaging features of intracranial acanthamoebic infections in immunocompetent patients

Mohammad Hanafiah, Mohd Farhan Hamdan, Azura Mohamed Mukhari Shahizon, Wong, Sau Wei, Yoganathan Kanaheswari

Neurology Asia, 2018;23(2):179-184.

MyJurnal

Granulomatous amoebic encephalitis caused by Acanthamoeba is a rare entity mainly affecting
immunocompromised patients. We reported a case of Acanthamoeba encephalitis of a 1-year-old
immunocompetent child and described the CT and MRI findings of the brain, while reviewing the
relevant literatures. The imaging findings of Acanthamoeba meningoencepalitis in immunocompetent
patients are non-specific and pose a diagnostic challenge.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext Performance of 2 Polymerization Protocols Targeting Cloned Toxoplasma Parasites

Hanafy NA, Badr MS, Nasr GM

Open Access Maced J Med Sci, 2018 Sep 25;6(9):1577-1580.

PMID: 30337968 DOI: 10.3889/oamjms.2018.400

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasitic infection of humans. Infection is usually mild. Serious complications can occur in pregnant and immunocompromised patients.

AIM: The present study aims to investigate the performance of 2 different PCR protocols; real-time quantitative molecular assays (qPCR) and conventional molecular assays (cPCR), using 2 different sets of primers and by using cloned purified Toxoplasma genomic substances to be evaluated as reference samples.

METHODS: The target DNA was provided in 8 different quantities.

RESULTS: Amplification failure was reported only with the cPCR in samples of low concentrations using both primer sets. Quantitative PCR detected the 8 different dilutions of the purified Toxoplasma gondii using the 2 sets of primers while cPCR was sensitive to detect only 6 different dilutions.

CONCLUSION: Generally real-time quantitative molecular assays, is easy to use method compared to conventional PCR assay and produces more reliable results within only one hour time but still the possible application of qPCRs in routine diagnosis necessitates analysis of a large number of clinical samples in further studies to make the proper choice.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext A case report of Intramuscular Abscess Secondary to Epicoccum Nigrum infection

Azira NMS, Zeehaida M, Nazli Z, Suraiya S

Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2016;1(2):48-51.

MyJurnal

A 36-year-old man with underlying chronic lymphocytic leukemia had left arm swelling for a duration of 3 months. Clinically, the affected arm was swollen, erythematous and tender. Epicoccum nigrum was isolated from the culture of the tissue that was obtained intraoperatively. He was treated and responded to voriconazole therapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of intramuscular abscess as a result of E. nigrum infection in an immunocompromised patient.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Fulltext Large Solitary Pulmonary Cryptococcoma Mimicking Lung Carcinoma in an Immunocompetent Patient

Anandpara KM, Aswani Y, Hira P

Malays J Med Sci, 2018 Feb;25(1):114-118.

PMID: 29599641 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2018.25.1.13

Cryptococcosis is a life-threatening mycosis typically seen in immunocompromised patients. Pulmonary cryptococcosis generally presents as multiple or solitary nodular opacities. Cryptococcal infection presenting as a destructing cavernoma (cryptococcoma) without diffuse infiltration of the lung is an extremely rare presentation, even in immunocompromised patients. This report presents a healthy, HIV negative, immunocompetent patient who presented with a large solitary lung mass provisionally diagnosed as a lung malignancy on radiological imaging that proved to be a large cryptococcoma after biopsy. The patient was treated with liposomal Amphotericin B and fluconazole, and the lesion showed regression on serial imaging. This case report thus highlights an unconventional presentation of pulmonary cryptococcosis in an immunocompetent individual.

Matched MeSH terms: Immunocompromised Host

Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 115 in total