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Rhodotorula mucilaginosa Fungemia and Pleural Tuberculosis in an Immunocompetent Patient: An Uncommon Association

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Abstract

We report an atypical case of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa fungemia coexisting with pleural tuberculosis, in an immunocompetent host. The patient was an inhaled drug abuser and worked in a fruit market. The diagnosis of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa infection was established by the isolation of the yeast in two blood cultures followed by a good response to amphotericin B treatment. Persistent evening fever and pleural effusion led to the second diagnosis—pleural tuberculosis. In the last 5 years, this was the only case of Rhodotorula mucilaginosa fungemia in our hospital and the first case in the literature that documents Rhodotorula mucilaginosa fungemia associated with pleural tuberculosis.

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Correspondence to Cláudia Pereira.

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Pereira, C., Ribeiro, S., Lopes, V. et al. Rhodotorula mucilaginosa Fungemia and Pleural Tuberculosis in an Immunocompetent Patient: An Uncommon Association. Mycopathologia 181, 145–149 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-015-9942-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-015-9942-x

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