Cerebral fungal infections in the immunocompromised host: a literature review and a new pathogen--Chaetomium atrobrunneum: case report.

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: A case of a cerebral abscess, occurring in a patient who had undergone bone marrow transplant, caused by a new pathogen, Chaetomium atrobrunneum, and a review of the literature are presented. Although Aspergillus species are by far the most common fungi found in cerebral abscesses in immunocompromised patients, an increasing number of fungi commonly found in nature but not usually associated with infections in humans have been isolated from cerebral abscesses in these patients.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 31-year-old male patient, who had undergone a recent bone marrow transplantation for multiple myeloma, presented 3 months after transplantation with right-sided hemiplegia caused by a left parietal hemorrhagic lesion.

INTERVENTION: A biopsy guided by computed tomography showed that the abscess contained the fungus C. atrobrunneum. The final identification of the organism was based on cultures, scanning electron microscopic studies, and consultation with the Fungus Testing Laboratory at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX. The patient was treated with several antifungal medications but developed uncontrolled cerebral edema, which led to further neurological deterioration and eventual death.

CONCLUSION: Cerebral abscesses in the immunocompromised patient may no longer be assumed to be caused solely by Aspergillus species. The literature reveals several rare cases of uncommon fungi found in these abscesses. Only four cases of cerebral infections caused by the genus Chaetomium have been reported. The case presented represents the first time a patient who had undergone a bone marrow transplant with a cerebral abscess was found to be caused by the pathogen C. atrobrunneum.