Isolation of an obscure fungus, Parengyodontium album, from the blood of a severely neutropenic patient: The first reported case from Malaysia

Authors

  • Nurdiyana Mohamed Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3888-8060
  • Chuan Hun Ding Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6040-219X
  • Asrul Abdul Wahab Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8283-6028
  • Mohd Nizam Tzar Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6073-2815
  • Murnihayati Hassan Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Ministry of Health, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2415-961X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.17016

Keywords:

Amphotericin B, Engyodontium album, internal transcribed spacer, Parengyodontium album

Abstract

Parengyodontium album is a very rarely encountered opportunistic fungal pathogen. A severely neutropenic 11-year-old boy with acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma was febrile and lethargic during his admission for elective chemotherapy. No cutaneous lesion or obvious source of infection was noted, and clinical examination was otherwise unremarkable. A blood specimen was sent for culture and fungal elements were visualized. Amphotericin B was administered empirically while awaiting fungal identification. Morphologically, a hyaline mould with thin septate hyphae plus smooth-walled conidiophores and conidiogenous cells arranged in whorls of up to four was cultured. Internal transcribed spacer region sequencing identified the fungus conclusively as P. album. Repeat blood culture was also positive for the same fungus. Following a two-week course of amphotericin B, fungemia clearance was attained.

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Published

2022-10-31

How to Cite

1.
Mohamed N, Ding CH, Wahab AA, Tzar MN, Hassan M (2022) Isolation of an obscure fungus, Parengyodontium album, from the blood of a severely neutropenic patient: The first reported case from Malaysia. J Infect Dev Ctries 16:1668–1670. doi: 10.3855/jidc.17016

Issue

Section

Case Reports