Candida glabrata: A Unique Cause of Necrotizing Urethritis

Necrotizing urethritis is a rare malady with only one other case reported in the literature found to be due to an infectious cause. We report a case of necrotizing urethritis caused by Candida glabrata and review all relevant literature to date. The patient is a 56-year-old man with a past medical history significant for poorly controlled insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes mellitus and incomplete bladder emptying who presented to the University Medical Center with perineal pain, fever, and urinary retention. Cross-sectional imaging showed emphysematous changes in the bulb of the corpus spongiosum. After admission, his fever and leukocytosis persisted, and his physical exam worsened with intravenous antibiotics alone. Subsequently, the patient underwent cystourethroscopy with incision and debridement of the corpus spongiosum. Postoperatively, he improved clinically and his spongiosum wound and urine grew Candida glabrata. To our knowledge, we report the first case of necrotizing urethritis caused by Candida glabrata.