The ubiquitous Scedosporium apiospermum is a saprophytic filamentous fungus that causes a wide range of human infections that affect virtually every organ in the body. S apiospermum has been described as one of the major fungal agents of chronic colonisation of airways in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).1 This organism is the second most frequent filamentous fungus that can be found in patients with CF after Aspergillus fumigatus. The prevalence of S apiospermum from bronchial secretions of patients with CF is reported to be 0.7–9%.1–3 Although this fungus is usually considered a simple endobronchial colonising agent in CF without pathological effects for the host, there have been some reported cases of invasive infections due to S apiospermum in patients with CF, including one case after lung transplantation.1 4 However, the pathogenicity of this organism in CF is still not well established.
Figure 1. Scedosporium apiospermum growth on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SAB) at 22°C for 4 weeks.
Acknowledgments
This article has been adapted from one previously published in ADC 2007;92:07
Footnotes
Competing interests: None.
REFERENCES
- 1.Symoens F, Knoop C, Schrooyen M, et al. Disseminated Scedosporium apiospermum infection in a cystic fibrosis patient after double-lung transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2006; 25: 603–7 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Defontaine A, Zouhair R, Cimon B, et al. Genotyping study of Scedosporium apiospermum isolates from patients with cystic fibrosis. J Clin Microbiol 2002; 40: 2108–14 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Horré R, Schaal KP, Siekmeier R, et al. Isolation of fungi, especially Exophiala dermatitidis, in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. A prospective study. Respiration 2004; 71: 360–6 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 4.Cimon B, Carrere J, Vinatier JF, et al. Clinical significance of Scedosporium apiospermum in patients with cystic fibrosis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2000; 19: 53–6 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]