Aspergillus Osteomyelitis of the Skull

A Case of Severe Chronic Multifocal Osteomyelitis of the Skull Caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae in Mali

Highly invasive infections caused by Klebsiella pneumonia, which includes bacteremia, liver abscess, meningitis, septic arthritis, and osteomyelitis, in not commonly seen in adult immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. Here, we report an adult case of chronic multifocal osteomyelitis with severe cranial involvement caused by Klebsiella pneumonia. The patient has a 5-year history of orbital abscess and multiple scalp traumas. CT scan showed right temporal and periorbital osteolysis, multiple parietal osteolysis. The pus was collected twice and routine culture was positive for Klebsiella pneumoniae. Good clinical outcome was achieved with debridement and antibiotic treatment. Microbiologists and clinicians should promptly perform bacteriological cultures on biopsy specimens to facilitate diagnosis when imaging or intraoperative findings of bone infection are suspected, especially in the Mali population.

Successful treatment of vertebral osteomyelitis due to Aspergillus flavus in an immunocompetent patient

Aspergillus osteomyelitis (AO) is a rare and often lethal opportunistic infection in predominantly immunocompromised patients. Treatment has shifted from amphotericin therapy to voriconazole monotherapy due to increased effectiveness and less toxicity. We report a case of an immunocompetent woman with vertebral osteomyelitis due to Aspergillus flavus who was successfully treated with surgery (requiring hardware implantation) and monotherapy posaconazole (following intolerance and hepatitis due to voriconazole). She remained well at follow-up post cessation of 12 months of antifungal therapy. We provide an updated literature review examining the role of azole monotherapy as the gold standard of treatment for AO.

Aspergillus spp. osteoarticular infections: an updated systematic review on the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of 186 confirmed cases

Aspergillus spp. osteoarticular infections are destructive opportunistic infections, while there is no clear consensus on their management. The purpose of this review is to investigate the current literature regarding Aspergillus spp. osteoarticular infections. An electronic search of the PubMed and Scopus databases was conducted considering studies that assessed osteoarticular infections from Aspergillus spp. We included only studies with biopsy proven documentation of positive cultures or histological findings for Aspergillus spp., and those with essential information for each case such as the anatomical location of the infection, the type of treatment (conservative, surgical, combination), the antifungal therapy, and the outcome. Overall, 148 studies from 1965 to 2021 including 186 patients were included in the review. One hundred and seven (57.5%) patients underwent surgical debridement in addition to antifungal therapy, while 79 (42.7%) patients were treated only conservatively. Complete infection resolution was reported in 107 (57.5%) patients, while partial resolution in 29 (15.5%) patients. Surgical debridement resulted in higher complete infection resolution rate compared to only antifungal therapy (70.0% vs. 40.5%, P < 0.001), while complete resolution rate was similar for antifungal monotherapy and combination/sequential therapy (58.3% vs. 54.5%; P = 0.76). Last, complete resolution rate was also similar for monotherapy with amphotericin B (58.1%) and voriconazole (58.6%; P = 0.95). The results of this study indicate that antifungal monotherapy has similar efficacy with combination/sequential therapy, while voriconazole has similar efficacy with amphotericin B. Moreover, surgical debridement of the infected focus results in better outcomes in terms of infection eradication compared to conservative treatment.

LAY SUMMARY

Antifungal monotherapy has similar efficacy with combination/sequential therapy, and voriconazole has similar efficacy with amphotericin B for the treatment of Aspergillus spp. osteoarticular infections, while surgical debridement of the infected focus improves the infection eradication rate.

Duration of posaconazole therapy for Aspergillus fumigatus osteomyelitis dictated by serial monitoring of 1,3-beta-D glucan

Here, we present a case of an immunocompetent 37-year old male who developed Aspergillus fumigatus osteomyelitis 16 years after extensive chest wall reconstructive surgery for Ewing sarcoma. His treatment course was complicated by a severe adverse drug reaction to voriconazole, requiring the use of oral posaconazole therapy. Serum 1,3-beta-D glucan assay was utilized to dictate the duration of posaconazole therapy. The patient successfully completed 9 months of oral posaconazole therapy and has not had clinical recurrence for 9 months off antifungal therapy.

Aspergillus Osteomyelitis of Clivus

A 64-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of headache. The patient had a history of 30 years of diabetes. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion involving the sphenoid sinus and clivus. Surgery was performed through a transsphenoidal approach. Pathology suggested the diagnosis of the presence of Aspergillus. The patient received voriconazole treatment for 8 weeks, and 3-month follow-up demonstrated no progression. Aspergillus osteomyelitis of the skull base is uncommon, and accurate preoperative diagnosis is difficult. However, when there is a clear history of diabetes, a diagnosis of fungal osteomyelitis should be considered.