Candidemia and sternal Candida albicans osteomyelitis in a patient with chronic lymphatic leukemia

Sternal osteomyelitis caused by Candida albicans without previous surgery or trauma occurred in a patient with chronic lymphatic leukemia and recurrent skin cancer. The osteomyelitic process healed without antifungal treatment. Three weeks later, following a radical neck dissection, candidemia, without recurrence of the osteomyelitis, was diagnosed and treated successfully with intravenous amphotericin B and 5-fluorocytosin. The presentation of Candida osteomyelitis as a manifestation of disseminated candidiasis in immunocompromised hosts is discussed and the relevant literature is briefly reviewed.