Infect Chemother.  2012 Dec;44(6):477-480. 10.3947/ic.2012.44.6.477.

Two Cases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fungemia in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies

• Lee HY
• Kim JH
• Kim SJ
• Lee HJ
• Kwon JC
• Park YJ
• Lee DG
• Kim YJ
• Min CK

• KMID: 1806937
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2012.44.6.477

Abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as "baker's yeast" or "brewer's yeast", and is considered to be a frequent colonizer of human mucosal surfaces. Although it is a very uncommon cause of infections in humans, it can cause wide range of clinical syndromes, including pneumonia, empyema, liver abscess, peritonitis, urinary tract infection, cellulitis, unexplained fever, or septic shock, particularly in immunocompromised hosts. Fungemia is the most severe and well-proven manifestation of S.cerevisiae infections. According to previous studies, the conditions related to immunosupression, such as cancer, HIV infection, use of corticosteroid, neutropenia, stem cell transplantation, solid organ transplantation, burns and heart surgery, appear to be predisposing factors to fungemia. The antifungal agent of choice has not been established. We report two cases of S.cerevisiae fungemia in patients with hematologic malignancies. One was primary fungemia, and the other was presumed to be a catheter related one. Both cases showed a good prognosis with the complete negative conversion of fungemia.

Keyword

Fungemia; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Hematologic neoplasm

MeSH Terms

Burns
Catheters
Cellulitis
Colon
Empyema
Fever
Fungemia
Hematologic Neoplasms
HIV Infections
Humans
Immunocompromised Host
Liver Abscess
Neutropenia
Organ Transplantation
Peritonitis
Pneumonia
Prognosis
Saccharomyces
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Shock, Septic
Stem Cell Transplantation
Thoracic Surgery
Transplants
Urinary Tract Infections

Figure

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  Figure 1 Roundish ascospores (black arrow, two per ascus) are demonstrated with acid-fast staining in Fowell acetate agar (×400) [12].

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