Disseminated fusariosis in a pediatric patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and prolonged fever: A case report

Introduction. Infections caused by fungi of Fusarium species occur in immunocompromised individuals as disseminated diseases. Case Report. This case report presents a 5-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who developed a disseminated fusarium infection during reinduction chemotherapy. Fever was the main symptom and it lasted for 15 weeks. Refractory fever despite broad-spectrum antibiotics, as well as nausea, myalgia, pulmonary symptoms with detection of pulmonary infiltrates, liver and spleen involvement indicated an invasive fungal infection. The patient received fluconazole, voriconazole, liposomal amphotericin B and caspofungin. Since high temperature was persistent, diagnostic laparoscopy of the abdomen was done. Scattered lesions, up to 2 mm in diameter, were observed macroscopically on the surface of the liver and spleen. The liver culture was positive for Acinetobacter and Fusarium species. After 38 days of therapy with liposomal amphotericin B and 3 days of ciprofloxacin, the patient became afebrile. Itraconazole (according to the antimycogram) was continued during maintenance therapy. Abdominal ultrasound was completely normal after 5 months of treatment with itraconazole. This boy was our first patient with a disseminated fusarium infection. At that time, Fusarium was detected in the hospital water system and in hospital air samples. Conclusion. A timely diagnosis of invasive fungal diseases in children is a big challenge. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in survival rate of patients with invasive fusariosis due to much more common use of voriconazole or combined antifungal therapy.