key: cord-0002688-3vm4tybd
authors: Solak, Yalcin; Biyik, Zeynep; Cizmecioglu, Ahmet; Genc, Nejdet; Ozbek, Orhan; Gaipov, Abduzhappar; Yeksan, Mehdi
title: Cytomegalovirus and Aspergillus spp. coinfection in organ transplantation: a case report and review of the literature
date: 2012-11-09
journal: CEN Case Rep
DOI: 10.1007/s13730-012-0040-3
sha: 76a329e95456971efefd60241bb0a8af22a2f7a1
doc_id: 2688
cord_uid: 3vm4tybd

With the advent of potent immunosuppressive options, acute rejection episodes have decreased at the expense of increased incidence of opportunistic infections in solid organ recipients. In the absence of any preventive therapy, 30–75 % of transplant recipients develop cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. account for more than 80 % of invasive fungal infections in solid organ recipients. This co-occurrence of two commonly seen opportunistic infections may end up in fatality. Here, we present a case of concomitant Aspergillus spp. and CMV infection and discuss the relevant literature. A 54-year-old male patient presented with fever, shortness of breath, and chest pain on the 9th posttransplant week after renal transplantation. CMV-DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was 1,680,000 copies/ml, thus, valganciclovir dose was increased. There were inspiratory crackles at both lung bases, and chest computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple fungal balls throughout the right lung. Galactomannan antigen was positive, and voriconazole and other antimicrobials were subsequently added to the treatment. At the end of the therapy, on control CT, pneumonic consolidation had disappeared, sputum cultures didn’t show Aspergillus spp., and CMV-DNA reduced to 700 copies/ml. The patient showed a favorable clinical response to combined treatment; fever, dyspnea, and pleuritic chest pain disappeared. Both CMV disease and aspergillosis may present as pulmonary disease; thus, the characterization of one may not preclude the search for the other and the timely initiation of treatment is of paramount importance for good outcomes.

Although advances in immunosuppressive therapy have led to an increased survival rate of renal transplant recipients, there are greater risks of developing infectious complications [1] . Although cytomegalovirus (CMV) rarely develops as a primary infection, reactivation of a previous CMV infection or the development of a superinfection often occur in transplant patients. It has been shown that CMV can lead to the development of bacterial and fungal superinfections by trigger cellular immunosuppression in solid organ transplant patients with a history of CMV infection [2, 3] . However, concomitant CMV infection and Aspergillus spp. pneumonia have rarely been documented [4] . There are only 7 cases to date in the literature. The diagnosis of coexisting infections is difficult and, thus, may delay the initiation of appropriate antimicrobial treatment. We report the successful treatment of this coinfection in a renal transplant recipient.

A 54-year-old male patient was on a regular hemodialysis program for 17 years due to renal failure secondary to nephrolithiasis. He had undergone parathyroidectomy for severe secondary hyperparathyroidism 1 year earlier. The patient underwent deceased donor renal transplantation in April 2010. The immediate postoperative period was unremarkable and he did not experience delayed graft function. He was administered antithymocyte globulin (ATG Fresenius, rabbit antiglobulin) 2 mg/kg for 10 days and methylprednisolone. His maintenance immunosuppressive regimen included tacrolimus (doses adjusted to maintain trough drug levels between 10 and 15 ng/ml), mycophenolate mofetil (1000 mg twice a day), and prednisone (tapered to 10 mg at the end of the second week). He was on valacyclovir 500 mg thrice a day for CMV prophylaxis. He was seropositive for CMV; however, the CMV status of the donor was not known at the time of transplantation. The serum creatinine of the patient at discharge was 0.8 mg/dl. He underwent uneventful transurethral resection for benign prostatic hyperplasia at on the 7th posttransplant week.

On the 9th posttransplant week, the patient presented with fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, and malaise in the emergency department of our hospital. He was hospitalized with an initial diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia. Physical examination findings at admission were as follows: body temperature 38.8°C, blood pressure 130/80 mmHg, heart rate 100 beats per min, regular.

His heart sounds were rhythmic, and no murmurs were heard. There were inspiratory crackles at both lung bases. Abdomen examination was unremarkable, organomegaly was not detected. There was no pedal edema. Laboratory parameters at admission were as follows: blood glucose: 154 mg/dl, urea: 41 mg/dl, creatinine: 0.66 mg/dl, sodium: 135 mEq/l, potassium: 4.3 mEq/l, calcium: 7.3 mg/dl, phosphorus: 1.3 mg/dl, magnesium: 2 mg/dl, total cholesterol: 96 mg/dl, triglycerides: 83 mg/dl and LDL cholesterol: 55 mg/dl, AST: 21 U/l, ALT: 13 U/l, hsCRP: 37 mg/ l, erythrocyte sedimentation rate: 27 mm/h, white blood cell count: 2180/mm 3 , hemoglobin: 10.2 g/dl, and platelet count: 74 9 10 3 /mm 3 . Urinalysis revealed ?WBC, ????RBC, protein (-), and nitrites (-). Once blood cultures had been taken, the patient was administered imipenem on an empirical basis. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest revealed increased ground-glass opacities at both lung bases, scattered cavitary lesions in both lungs, the largest of which measured 19 9 15 mm in diameter, consolidation with air bronchogram on superior segment of the right lower lung, and minimal pleural effusion on the right side ( Fig. 1 ). Galactomannan antigen was found to be positive. Voriconazole (400 mg twice daily loading and 200 mg twice daily maintenance doses) was added to his treatment. During the course of the hospitalization, he experienced unilateral leg swelling and pain. Doppler ultrasound revealed acute deep vein thrombosis and the patient was administered lowmolecular-weight heparin.

CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy showed branched hyphae on a necrobiotic background under histochemical PAS staining (Fig. 1 ). Acidoresistant bacillus (ARB) was found to be negative. After the procedure, the patient developed pneumothorax, and a chest tube was inserted. On subsequent HRCT, there was reduction in the number showing branched hyphae on a necrobiotic background, histochemical PAS staining of nodular opacities and size of the cavitations. Pneumonic consolidation disappeared with the ongoing treatment. During the course of the treatment, imipenem was changed to piperacillin-tazobactam based on the sputum culture that yielded Enterobacter spp. Urine culture also yielded Enterococcus gallinarum. Subsequently, his antibiotic treatment was changed to tigecycline. Sputum cultures did not show Aspergillus spp. or any other fungal pathogen.

CMV-DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at admission was 1,680,000 copies/ml, thus, the valganciclovir dose was increased to 900 mg twice daily. Owing to transient neutropenia, the valganciclovir dose was reduced. At the end of the hospitalization, CMV-DNA reduced to 700 copies/ml. The patient showed a favorable clinical response to combined treatment; fever, dyspnea, and pleuritic chest pain disappeared. He did not experience an acute rejection episode during the course of the hospitalization. The highest recorded serum creatinine value was 1.49 mg/dl, which subsequently returned to the baseline value. The patient was discharged with voriconazole 200 mg twice daily per oral and valganciclovir 450 mg twice daily per oral in addition to his maintenance immunosuppressive regimen. The patient is still free of fever, chest pain, and dyspnea, and his serum creatinine is 0.9 mg/dl as of February 2011. His latest CMV-DNA value was 0 copies/ml.

As a prevalent pathogen among transplant patients, CMV affects up to 75 % of all solid organ transplant recipients [5] . In the absence of any preventive therapy, 30-75 % of transplant recipients develop CMV infection, and the reported incidence of CMV disease is 8-30 % [6] . CMV disease is defined as ''CMV infection manifesting with signs and symptoms of fever, malaise, leukopenia, and/or documented CMV invasive disease into organs''. The most frequent presentations of CMV disease are fever (58 %), pneumonitis (26.3 %), and enterocolitis (15.8 %) [7] . Most infections are associated with the reactivation of latent CMV [8] . Most complications of this infection occur in the first 6 month after engraftment [9] . The virus can influence the production of various cytokines and chemokines that can inhibit natural killer and T cell responses, as well as target humoral immune responses; in fact, it is these immunomodulatory properties that may be responsible for the indirect consequences of CMV infection [6] . The increased incidence of concurrent opportunistic viral, fungal, and bacterial infections in the setting of CMV infection has been well characterized in the literature. The immunomodulatory properties of CMV are attributed to solid organ transplant recipients' increased vulnerability to these infections [5] . To our knowledge, coinfection of Aspergillus spp. and CMV has been reported in 7 cases in the literature to date. The patient and disease characteristics of these cases are depicted in Table 1 . Some common features of reported cases were as follows: most of the cases were middle-aged males who received a deceased donor renal transplantation. Seven out of 8 cases presented within 3 months after transplantation. Six of 8 cases were treated with amphotericin B and 7 out of 8 cases were treated with i.v. ganciclovir ( Table 1 ). The intensity of maintenance immunosuppression was reduced in all cases and 3 out of 8 patients died, while 1 patient lost his renal graft and returned to dialysis. Interestingly, in 4 of these 7 cases, there was no mention with regards to CMV prophylaxis, while 2 patients were not given prophylaxis against CMV. In our patient, CMV infection developed despite appropriate prophylactic treatment with oral valganciclovir.

Fungal infections are aggressive and associated with high morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing organ transplantation. The occurrence of invasive fungal infections is highest in the early posttransplant period, when immunosuppression is greatest. The prevalence of invasive fungal infections has decreased over the last decade, due, in a large part, to improvements in transplant surgical methods [10] . Invasive fungal infections following kidney transplantation are rare, occurring in only 1-14 % of kidney transplants [11] . Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. account for more than 80 % of invasive fungal infections in solid organ recipients [12] . Invasive Aspergillus spp. infection is a devastating complication following solid organ transplantation, with associated high mortality. It typically develops within the first 12 months and is most often seen within the first 3 months after transplantation [2] . Presenting symptoms are usually nonspecific, including low-grade fever, weight loss, fatigue, and dry cough [13] . A recent study reported an incidence of aspergillosis after solid organ transplant of 0.65 %, and the 12-month survival after infection was 59 % for patients with invasive aspergillosis [14] . Another study revealed autopsy findings and clinical associates of patients with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis [15] . Forty-one percent of the patients had no respiratory symptoms. Fungal etiology was not entertained clinically in any of the patients. The major associated conditions were prolonged antibiotic therapy, steroid therapy, renal transplantation, and underlying lung disease Our case is the second in which voriconazole was used for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. The patient is currently still on maintenance antifungal treatment with voriconazole and control HRCT showed significant improvements in pulmonary findings.

An interesting aspect of our patient was the development of deep vein thrombosis. Previously, it has been reported that, in a renal transplant recipient, invasive Aspergillus spp. infection was complicated by an aortic thrombus [16] . Autopsy studies in patients with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis revealed angioinvasion [15] . The mechanism of arterial obstruction during invasive aspergillosis remains hypothetical. It was suggested that aggregation of the fungus cells in the intima stimulates endothelial cells to become prothrombotic by expressing thromboplastin that activates factor II and initiates the extrinsic coagulation cascade [17] . We think that the reason behind why aspergillosis facilitated the development of thrombosis was the low risk profile of our patient for deep vein thrombosis development. He had none of the risk factors apart from age and recent hospitalization for medical illness. He was fully ambulatory during the hospitalization.

In conclusion, the early posttransplant period is critical for the development of opportunistic viral and invasive fungal infections. Both CMV disease and aspergillosis may present as pulmonary disease; thus, the characterization of one may not preclude the search for the other. Eight cases, together with ours, have been reported in the literature to date and they prompt that recognition and timely initiation of treatment are of paramount importance for good outcomes.

Characteristics of infectious complications associated with mortality after solid organ transplantation

Systemic fungal infections after renal transplantation

Fever and cavitary infiltrate in a renal transplant recipient

Fatal case of Aspergillus coinfection in a renal transplant recipient suffering from cytomegalovirus pneumonitis

Cytomegalovirus infection and disease in the new era of immunosuppression following solid organ transplantation

Improving outcomes for solid-organ transplant recipients at risk from cytomegalovirus infection: lateonset disease and indirect consequences

Cytomegalovirus infection in kidney transplant patients: clinical manifestations and diagnosis

Urinary tract infection in the immunocompromised host. Lessons from kidney transplantation and the AIDS epidemic

Infection in organ-transplant recipients

Invasive fungal infections following renal transplantation: a review of 2410 recipients

Invasive fungal infections and antifungal therapies in solid organ transplant recipients

Epidemiology of fungal infections in solid organ transplant patients

Invasive aspergillosis. Clinical features of 35 proven cases at a single institution

Invasive fungal infections among organ transplant recipients: results of the Transplant-Associated Infection Surveillance Network (TRANSNET)

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: a study of 39 cases at autopsy

Aortic thrombus during invasive aspergillosis in a kidney transplant recipient

Interactions of Aspergillus fumigatus with endothelial cells: internalization, injury, and stimulation of tissue factor activity

Coexistent cutaneous Aspergillus and cytomegalovirus infection in a liver transplant recipient

Concomitant Aspergillus and Cytomegalovirus infection in heart transplant: early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment

Desquamative interstitial pneumonia associated with concurrent cytomegalovirus and Aspergillus pneumonia in a renal transplant recipient

Fatal case of invasive aspergillosis and cytomegalovirus coinfection after kidney transplantation inside the Eurotransplant Senior Program

Two successfully treated cases of posttransplant pneumonia caused by cytomegalovirus and Aspergillus coinfection

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. No sources of funding were used to prepare this manuscript.