Refractory eosinophilic cystitis controlled with low-dose cyclosporine therapy: A case report.

Eosinophilic cystitis (EC) is a rare disease of the bladder with no clear inciting etiology, pathogenesis, or standard treatment. We present the case of a 78-year-old woman with a three-year history of refractory EC with symptoms characterized by urinary frequency, gross hematuria, dysuria, and suprapubic pain. Despite treatment with a silver nitrate instillation, antibiotics, alpha-1 blockers, antihistamines, antimuscarinics, beta-3 agonists, and intravesical steroid injections, her symptoms persisted. She was then trialed on systemic therapies including prednisone, montelukast, and cyclosporine. Upon follow-up after initiation of therapy with low-dose cyclosporine she had an excellent response, both symptomatically and anatomically via cystoscopy.

Coccidioidomycosis in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients: Case Series and Review of the Literature.

Coccidioides is an endemic fungus of the Southwest United States that causes the disease coccidioidomycosis. Immunocompromised persons are at increased risk for severe infection and dissemination. One such population is allogeneic bone marrow transplant (allo-HCT) recipients, but accounts of coccidioidal infection in these patients have rarely been documented. We present two cases of Coccidioides in allo-HCT recipients with good outcomes: one patient who developed pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in the late post-engraftment phase and another with known controlled disseminated infection at the time of transplant. A review of the literature identified 19 allo-HCT recipients with coccidioidomycosis. Due to the limited published literature, no guidelines have yet been established regarding optimal prophylaxis and treatment of Coccidioides infection in allo-HCT recipients. Candidates for transplantation should undergo a rigorous pre-transplant assessment to identify evidence of prior or active coccidioidomycosis. In our experience, patients who visit or live in Coccidioides-endemic areas should receive primary prophylaxis for at least the first 100 days post-transplant, and duration should be extended as long as the patient remains on immunosuppression. Those with prior infection should receive secondary prophylaxis while immunosuppressed. Patients with active infection should have treatment and stabilization of infection and continue anti-fungal treatment through immunosuppression.