[Bilateral multifocal kidney abscess due to Candida albicans]

Renal abscesses are a rare complication of urinary tract infections and may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Most cases occur in patients with predisposing factors such as immunosuppression. Diagnosis requires high clinical suspicion and its treatment consists in the use of parenteral antibiotics and antifungals associated or not with surgical interventions such as nephrostomy and nephrectomy. Few cases have been published in the medical literature of multifocal bilateral renal abscesses and even fewer due to Candida albicans. We present the case of a 20-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes mellitus, diagnosed at age 8, multiple hospitalizations for diabetic ketoacidosis, and recent hospitalization for candidemia (Candida albicans) treated with fluconazole for 23 days. Eighteen days after her discharge, she consulted for dull flank pain and general symptoms. Contrast enhanced abdominal tomography showed bilateral multifocal abscesses and Candida albicans was isolated in one of the samples obtained from lesions. She received fluconazole 400 mg, 6 weeks i.v. and 2 weeks via enteral route, evolving favorably with clinical and imaging improvement, continuing outpatient clinical monitoring. This report highlights the importance of diagnosis and treatment of this rare complication in complex diseases such as diabetes mellitus.