Find in Library

As well as severe immunosuppression, other predisposing factors may facilitate invasive mycosis caused by molds. Chronic kidney disease and the resulting peritoneal dialysis have been reported as factors putting patients at risk of fungal infections from environmental sources. We describe an environmental investigation undertaken to guide exposure prevention for a peritoneal dialysis patient with transient colonization of her nostrils by <i>Lichtheimia corymbifera</i> in a rural area of northern Germany. Systematic screening for airborne and surface-deposited molds enabled targeted recommendations to be made, although <i>Lichtheimia corymbifera</i> itself was not grown from the collected environmental samples. This communication is intended to illustrate how such an investigation can be performed on the basis of the environmental distribution of the molds and how preventive recommendations can be derived from the results.