NOSOCOMIAL URINARY TRACT INFECTION DUE TO TRICHOSPORON ASAHII: A RARE CASE REPORT

Trichosporon asahii is a basidiomycetous yeast which causes white piedra and onychomycosis in immunocompetent hosts. In immunocompromised hosts this species may cause a number of localized and disseminated infections. Urinary tract infection by Trichosporon asahii is a rare occurrence. Few cases have been reported from India. We present a microbiologically confirmed urinary tract infection with T. asahii in a 52 year old diabetic, female patient who had undergone hysterectomy for dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Her urine sample was subjected to culture and sensitivity for postoperative rigor. Gram stain examination of the centrifuged urine revealed septate hyphae with arthroconidia and pus cells. Yeast like fungus was isolated in pure culture in three consecutive samples which was confirmed as Trichosporon asahii by standard tests. The response to antifungal therapy was dramatic. Trichosporon species though occasionally a part of normal flora, may be involved in causing nosocomial opportunistic infection more so in immunocompromised hosts. Very few cases of microbiologically confirmed urinary tract infection have been reported so far. Its diagnosis is likely to be missed or misinterpreted because of lack of awareness. Therefore T. asahii deserves recognition as a pathogen.