A suppurative thyroiditis and perineal subcutaneous abscess related with aspergillus fumigatus: a case report and literature review

• Main Authors: Jiaying Tan, Jun Shen, Yong Fang, Liping Zhu, Yang Liu, Ye Gong, Hechen Zhu, Zupeng Hu, Gang Wu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018-12-01
• Series: BMC Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: Aspergillus fumigatus; Systemic lupus erythematosus; Aspergillus thyroiditis; Caspofungin; Voriconazole; Diagnosis
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12879-018-3617-4

Abstract Background Invasive aspergillosis is a complication in immunocompromised patients and commonly detected in patients with hematological malignancies, which mostly affect the lungs. Because of its high iodine content, rich blood supply and capsule, the thyroid is considered to be less prone to microbial invasion thus most infectious thyroiditis cases are caused by bacteria. However, a few case reports have described thyroid gland aspergilloses, most of which were due to disseminated invasive aspergillosis. Case presentation We first report a case of thyroid gland and subcutaneous labium majus aspergillosis in a Chinese patient who received long-term glucocorticoid treatment for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis, and then we reviewed 36 articles describing similar aspergillus infections in 41 patients. Conclusion We included 29 cases of diagnosed aspergillus thyroiditis and analyzed clinical findings, treatments and outcomes to provide clinical information for diagnosis and prognosis of thyroiditis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus.