Multiple Cladosporium brain abscesses in a renal transplant patient: aggressive management improves outcome

Infection remains one of the major complications of nonspecific immunosuppression in renal transplant patients and accounts for significant morbidity and mortality. The incidence of infectious complications has been shown to be related to the degree of immunosuppression and correlated with the total steroid dosage, use of antilymphocyte serum, and number of rejection episodes. We present the case of a patient who received a large cumulative immunosuppressive load as treatment for her original disease and for numerous rejection episodes following renal transplantation, and who later developed multiple brain abscesses. These were shown to be due to the saprophytic black fungus Cladosporium bantianum. This case emphasizes the importance of aggressively pursuing the diagnosis in immunosuppressed individuals--appropriate treatment may be instituted early and may save lives. There have been no previous cases of patients surviving this condition without neurosurgical resection of the lesions.