infectious diseases
Miscellaneous Opportunistic Fungi
Introduction
Many yeasts and molds can cause opportunistic, even life-threatening infections in patients who are immunocompromised. These infections only rarely affect immunocompetent people. Yeasts tend to cause fungemia as well as focal involvement of skin and other sites. (See also Overview of Fungal Infections .) Blastoschizomyces capitatusandTrichosporonspecies (includingT. ovoides,T. inkin,T. asahii,T. mucoides,T. asteroides, andT. cutaneum) are yeasts that cause often fatal disseminated infection, particularly in patients with neutropenia. AmongTrichosporon,T. asahiiis the most common cause of disseminated disease. The nameT. beigelii, now obsolete, was formerly used for all or any of theseTrichosporonspecies. is a yeast that causes Tinea Versicolor and Talaromyces marneffei(formerly calledPenicillium marneffei) is an opportunistic pathogen causing disseminated infection in Southeast Asian patients with AIDS, and cases have been recognized in travelers returning to the United States after visiting that region.T. marneffeiskin lesions may resemble molluscum contagiosum. , both of which are becoming more frequent, can cause focal angioinvasive vasculitic lesions mimicking invasive Aspergillosis . Specific diagnosis requires culture and species identification and is crucial because not all of these organisms respond to a single antifungal. For example,Scedosporiumspecies are typically resistant toamphotericin B. Optimal regimens of antifungal therapy for each member of this group of fungal opportunists must be defined. 