Date: 26 November 2013
This patient with ABPA and chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis has been stabilized on voriconazole treatment for >5 years. She had a degree of photosensitivity most of that time, noticed early in the course of voriconazole treatment. She is oxygen and wheelchair dependent and doesn’t go outside very much, so most of her light exposure has been indoor light. She developed rough scaly patches over her face, neck and lower arms. Dermatological review indicated multiple solar keratoses”. Skin biopsy from the right forearm confirmed this clinical diagnosis – “skin showing hyperkeratosis with a little parakeratosis and acanthosis. The keratinocytes have a glassy appearance but show nuclear atypia with dyskeratotic cells, and occasional suprabasal mitoses. The intraepidermal sweat ducts are spared. Appearances suggest an actinic keratosis with moderate to severe dysplasia.” These features are characteristic of a low grade premalignant change.
She was treated with local 5-fluorouracil cream (Efudix) (3 cycles) to the affected lesions. These photos were taken at the apogee of inflammation. The inflammation resolved after discontinuing the cream. This reaction is expected with application of this mild chemotherapy agent. Alternative or supplementary treatments include cryotherapy, curettage and cautery, if necessary. Following treatment her skin was much softer and considerably improved. Voriconazole has been stopped, and posaconazole substituted.
Copyright:
DW Denning and JE Ferguson, University Hospital of South Manchester. 22/07/08
Notes: n/a
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Images and abstract taken from Mert D et.al., Hematol Rep. 2017 Jun 1;9(2):6997. doi: 10.4081/hr.2017.6997. Invasive Aspergillosis with Disseminated Skin Involvement in a Patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Rare Case.
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is most commonly seen in immunocompromised patients. Besides, skin lesions may also develop due to invasive aspergillosis in those patients. A 49-year-old male patient was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
The patient developed bullous and zosteriform lesions on the skin after the 21st day of hospitalization. The skin biopsy showed hyphae. Disseminated skin aspergillosis was diagnosed to the patient.
Voricanazole treatment was initiated. The patient was discharged once the lesions started to disappear.
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A pile of woodchip stored for use in a garden usually as a weed suppressing mulch. The heat building up in the pile is illustrated by the plumes of steam eminating from the top of the pile.
Aspergillus fumigatus is particularly well adapted to grow in the heat (up to 60C) found in such piles of rotting organic material and this characteristic, an adaption for its life in its natural environment also enables it to survive and grow in warm mammalian bodies at 37C. Most fungi cannot grow or survive at those temperatures
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MK is 59 years old and presented with right sided pleuritic chest pain and coughing over 1 week. A chest Xray and then CT scan revealed complete collapse of her right lower lobe and middle lobes. Mucous retention is seen just proximal to the abrupt cutoff. There was mild bronchiectasis.
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