Journal of the Chinese Medical Association
Volume 70, Issue 6 , Pages 249-252, June 2007

Disseminated Cryptococcosis Initially Presenting as Cellulitis in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient

  • Hsueh-Chieh Lu

      Affiliations

    • Department of Gastroenterology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Ying-Ying Yang

      Affiliations

    • Department of General Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to: Dr Ying-Ying Yang, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 201, Section 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei 112, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Yu-Lin Huang

      Affiliations

    • Department of Dermatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Te-Li Chen

      Affiliations

    • Department of General Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Chiao-Lin Chuang

      Affiliations

    • Department of General Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Fa-Yauh Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of General Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
    • ,
  • Shou-Dong Lee

      Affiliations

    • Department of Gastroenterology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Received 20 November 2006; accepted 30 April 2007.

Article Outline

Infection with Cryptococcus neoformans often occurs in immunocompromised hosts. It is usually acquired by invasion of the respiratory tract, and then the organisms may spread hematogenously to other viscera, mainly the central nervous system. Although there are some reports of primary cutaneous cryptococcosis, cryptococcal skin disease is a rare feature of disseminated cryptococcosis, and has a poor outcome if unrecognized and untreated. We present a case of cryp-tococcal cellulitis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis who was receiving long-term steroid treatment. Reviewing the literature, this is the first report of rheumatoid arthritis with disseminated cryptococcosis initially presenting as cellulitis.

Key Words:  cellulitis , Cryptococcus neoformans , rheumatoid arthritis

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PII: S1726-4901(09)70368-5

doi:10.1016/S1726-4901(09)70368-5

Journal of the Chinese Medical Association
Volume 70, Issue 6 , Pages 249-252, June 2007

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