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Management of injuries caused by Cryptococcus neoformans--contaminated needles
A Casadevall1, J Mukherjee, R Yuan
1Department of Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
Abstract:
This report describes four skin-puncture accidents with needles that were heavily contaminated with Cryptococcus neoformans. In one accident, delayed administration of antifungal drugs resulted in a granuloma of the finger. In the other three accidents, no skin infection followed immediate prophylaxis with oral fluconazole. Our experience suggests that early therapy with fluconazole is a reasonable means of managing skin injuries caused by instruments contaminated with viable C. neoformans.