A case of Histoplasma capsulatum variety capsulatum septic arthritis successfully treated with surgery, systemic antifungals, and local amphotericin cement beads

Histoplasma capsulatum variety capsulatum (H. capsulatum) is a thermally dimorphic fungus that is endemic to the Mississippi River and Ohio River valley regions. Of the hundreds of thousands of patients exposed to this fungus, less than 1% develop a severe illness most commonly manifesting as pulmon...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jocelyn Compton, Wyatt Vander Voort, Michael Willey, Poorani Sekar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-12-01
Series:International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971218345417
Description
Summary:Histoplasma capsulatum variety capsulatum (H. capsulatum) is a thermally dimorphic fungus that is endemic to the Mississippi River and Ohio River valley regions. Of the hundreds of thousands of patients exposed to this fungus, less than 1% develop a severe illness most commonly manifesting as pulmonary disease. Septic arthritis from hematogenous seeding with H. capsulatum or from direct inoculation has been reported only rarely in the literature. The first case of septic arthritis of the shoulder due to H. capsulatum occurring in an immunocompromised patient, treated successfully with irrigation and debridement, systemic antifungals, and local delivery of amphotericin B with cement beads, is reported here. Importantly, the addition of local amphotericin B delivery by cement beads to conventional treatment likely led to clinical cure in this patient. Keywords: Histoplasma capsulatum, Fungal arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Septic arthritis, Antifungals
ISSN:1201-9712