[Intracranial aspergillosis in an immunocompetent patient]

Intracranial aspergillosis is a rare clinical picture, but the mortality rate is very high. In this report, an immunocompetent 43 years old male patient with mortal intracranial aspergillosis was presented. The patient has been admitted to Neurosurgery Clinics of our hospital with the complaints of weakness and walking difficulties. In the cranial tomography a brain mass was detected, and his medical history revealed that he had experienced an operation 18 months ago because of another intracranial tumour. After the operation his fever was high (39 degrees C), the leukocyte count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and CRP values were increased, and purulent discharge was present in the operation site. As the pathological examination of the operation material have suggested aspergillosis, conventional amphotericin B treatment was started initially, but has changed to liposomal form 18 days later. Aspergillus fumigatus has been grown on the exudate culture collected from flap region. The levels of immunoglobulins and complement components of the patient were found normal. Since his next cranial magnetic resonance result indicated the presence of pansinusitis and destructive lesions in ethmoid sinuses, caspofungin was added to the therapy. The patient has reoperated since there was no clinical and laboratory progress at the 83rd day of amphotericin B, and 10th day of caspofungin therapy. Bacterial and fungal cultures of specimens collected during the second operation yielded negative results, however microabscesses and chronic inflammation focci were detected in histopathological examination. Fever and purulent discharge recurred in the patient after the second operation and visual defect has developed in his left eye. There was no bacterial or fungal growth in the discharge material, but direct microscopy have showed the presence of septate hyphae. The patient was discharged from the hospital by his family request with oral itraconazole treatment, however, he died one month later. Since no immunosuppressive status was detected in our patient, the transmission was thought to occur during the operation which he had experienced one and half year ago. In conclusion, the patients who experience neurosurgery should be followed-up carefully in terms of aspergillosis.