arthritis of the elbow in a patient with Ewing's sarcoma that successfully responded to itraconazole

oleh: Seung Youn Kim, Jung Sub Lim, Dong Hwan Kim, Hyeon Jeong Lee, Joong Bum Cho, Jun Ah Lee, Dong Ho Kim

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Korean Pediatric Society 2011-09-01

Deskripsi

Fungal infections are rarely responsible for arthritis. Few cases of fungal arthritis have been reported, even in immunocompromised hosts susceptible to low-virulence organisms. Herein, the authors report the first case of Candida tropicalis arthritis in a child with a solid tumor. A 13-year-old boy with Ewing's sarcoma developed arthritis in his elbow during the neutropenic period after chemotherapy. Despite treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics, his condition did not improve and serial blood cultures failed to reveal any causative organisms. After surgical drainage, culture of the joint fluid revealed the presence of C. tropicalis. Itraconazole treatment was started and after 3 months of therapy, the patient completely recovered full elbow function.