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Article Details

Clinical Image

Volume 5, Issue 12 (December Issue)

Prototheca wickerhamii Algaemia in a Renal Transplant Recipient

Joanne Nixon1,2,3*, Javid Mirza2,3 and Rob Baird2,4

1Advanced Trainee Infectious Diseases and Acute and General Care Medicine
2Territory Pathology, Royal Darwin Hospital, Rocklands Drive TIWI NT 0810 Australia
3Department of Microbiology, Royal Darwin Hospital, Rocklands Drive TIWI NT 0810 Australia
4Clinical Microbiologist and Director of Pathology, Territory Pathology, Royal Darwin Hospital, Rocklands Drive TIWI NT 0810 Australia

*Corresponding author: Joanne C Nixon, Territory Pathology, Royal Darwin Hospital, Rocklands Drive Tiwi, NT 0810 Australia. E-mail: joanne.nixon@nt.gov.au

Received: December 24, 2023; Accepted: January 06, 2024; Published: January 15, 2024

Citation: Nixon J, Mirza J, Baird R. Prototheca wickerhamii Algaemia in a Renal Transplant Recipient. Clin Image Case Rep J. 2024; 5(12): 367.

Prototheca wickerhamii Algaemia in a Renal Transplant Recipient
Abstract

A 73-year-old diagnosed with giant cell arteritis, requiring methylprednisolone, presented to hospital with headache. Her medical history is notable for a renal transplant on maintenance immunosuppression and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Her admission was complicated by a gastrointestinal bleed and pneumonia. Chest X-ray indicated bilateral bronchopneumonia. Computerised tomography of the brain detected no acute intracranial pathology. A set of blood cultures grew Escherichia coli. Despite antimicrobials and supportive care, the patient rapidly deteriorated. During the patient’s deterioration, two aerobic blood culture bottles (BacTALERT, bioMerieux, France) grew cream, nonmucoid ‘yeast-like’ colonies on sheep blood and Sabouraud 4?xtrose agar (Thermo Scientific, South Australia). Gram stain of the colony showed Gram-positive large spherical cells. The organism was identified as Prototheca wickerhamii by VITEK (bioMerieux) and MALDI-TOF (VITEK MS, bioMerieux) mass spectrometry. The patient succumbed to multi-organ failure, and a diagnosis of Prototheca blood stream infection was made posthumously.