Skin protothecosis in a patient with renal allograft

The case history of a 30-year-old male kidney transplant patient who developed cutaneous protothecosis is presented. The lesions, initially located over the forearm and around the site of previous AV shunt, consisted of maculopapular areas which opened spontaneously and drained purulent sanguineous material. Culutre of drainage grew Prototheca wickerhamii. Other virulent organisms, ie. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, were also grown. The patient died of Klebsiella septicemia and shock. Protothecosis is an uncommon algal infection in man. This is the first report of the disease among recipients of a renal transplant.