Hydrothorax in association with Scopulariopsis brumptii in an AIDS patient in Chennai, India

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Vol. 101; no. 12; pp. 1270 - 1272
• Main Authors: Shankar, E.M., Vignesh, R., Barton, R.C., Balakrishnan, P., Murugavel, K.G., Velu, V., Kownhar, H., Lloyd, C.A.C., Solomon, S., Rao, U.A., Kumarasamy, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2007; Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; AIDS; AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections - microbiology; Ascomycota - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Fatal Outcome; Fungal infection; Human viral diseases; Humans; Hydrothorax; Hydrothorax - microbiology; India; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Opportunistic infection; Pleura - microbiology; Pneumology; Respiratory system : syndromes and miscellaneous diseases; Scopulariopsis brumptii; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Asia; India; Opportunistic infection; AIDS; Hydrothorax; Fungal infection; Scopulariopsis brumptii; India; Human; Immunopathology; Effusion; Mycosis; Respiratory disease; Immune deficiency; Infection; Case study; Association; Viral disease; Pleural disease; Tropical medicine
• ISSN: 0035-9203; 1878-3503
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2007.09.008

Over the past decade, an increasing number of opportunistic fungal infections have been reported in immunocompromised subjects. Microascus spp. and their anamorphs Scopulariopsis spp. have been recovered from a wide geographical range. We report a case of Scopulariopsis brumptii in a 27-year-old man with AIDS presenting with breathlessness, pericardial effusion and hydrothorax in Chennai, southern India, in February 2007. Because of respiratory arrest, the patient was intubated. However, the patient developed obstructive shock and died due to cardiac dysfunctions. This report underlines the need for a direct, intensive approach to investigations in immunocompromised patients, especially those with AIDS.