Disseminated infection by Aspergillus terreus

A patient with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia who received chemotherapy developed lung nodules and later central nervous system symptoms consistent with disseminated aspergillosis. The diagnosis was made at open lung biopsy by culturing the organism and observing in tissue sections conidia borne laterally along the hyphae, a characteristic of the Aspergillus terreus-flavipes group. This is the first reported case of disseminated A. terreus infection in an immunocompromised host.