Cladophialophora bantiana: a rare cause of fungal brain abscess. Clinical aspects and new therapeutic options.

Black molds or dematiaceous fungi are rare etiologic agents of intracerebral abscesses and such infections carry a high mortality of up to 70% despite combined surgical and antifungal therapy. While the growing use of immunosuppressive therapies and organ transplantation have caused an increase in the incidence of rare fungal cerebral infections, occurrence in immunocompetent hosts is also possible. We describe a 60-year-old female patient with a cerebral abscess caused by Cladophialophora bantiana. The case illustrates the clinical and radiological similarities between glioblastomas and brain abscesses and emphasizes the need to perform histological and microbiological studies prior to the initiation of any form of therapy. Long-term survival from cerebral black mold abscesses has been reported only when complete surgical resection was possible. The recommended antifungal treatment involves the use of amphotericin B combined with a triazole and, if possible, flucytosine. Highly-active new generation triazole antifungal compounds (voriconazole or posaconazole) are likely to offer improved survival rates for patients with rare mold infections. In particular, posaconazole could be a new therapeutic option given its better tolerance, lower toxicity and fewer drug-drug interactions. We discuss clinical, microbiological and practical pharmacological aspects and review current and evolving treatment options.

Emergency liver transplantation in amodiaquine-induced fulminant hepatitis.

Amodiaquine is an amino-4-quinoline with the basic spectrum of activity of chloroquine. It has been used widely to treat and prevent malaria. From the mid-1980s, there were reports of fatal adverse drug reactions described in travelers using amodiaquine as antimalarial prophylaxis. In 1990, the World Health Organization (WHO) stopped using this drug in malaria control programs. The WHO Expert Committee on Malaria modified this in 1993 and reported that amodiaquine could be used for treatment if the risk of infection outweighs the potential for adverse drug reactions. Currently, amodiaquine is a potential useful drug, especially if used with artemisinin-based combination therapy and with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine to improve treatment efficacy for chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax. We report a case of fulminant hepatitis induced by antimalarial prophylactic use of amodiaquine that necessitated emergency orthotopic liver transplantation.

Should we continue using amphotericin B deoxycholate for the treatment of fungal infections? Adverse events and clinical outcomes.

Amphotericin B deoxycholate (AmBd) has been a standard therapy for IFI but is associated with high adverse event and mortality rates. A retrospective review was undertaken to describe adverse events and clinical outcomes in adult patients with IFI treated with only AmBd as initial therapy.