AUTHOR=Chen Liangyu , Zhang Meichun , Guo Weihong , Ding Wenshuang , Tan Jinwen , Du Hong , Zhao Ziwen , Zhong Weinong 

TITLE=Case report: Acute Talaromyces marneffei mediastinitis in an HIV-negative patient

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1045660

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.1045660

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Talaromyces marneffei</italic> (<italic>T. marneffei</italic>) is one of the most important opportunistic human pathogens endemic in Southeast Asia. Talaromycosis, which was once regarded as an opportunistic infectious disease in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is being increasingly reported in HIV-negative populations. Since <italic>T. marneffei</italic> infection can be localized or disseminated, patients may present with a variety of symptoms. However, mediastinal infection attributed to <italic>T. marneffei</italic> is extremely rare. We report the case of a 32-year-old female who manifested a large mediastinal mass and was eventually diagnosed as acute <italic>T. marneffei</italic> mediastinitis. The patient was HIV-negative and had no direct contact with intermediate hosts. We successfully managed to treat the patient with inhaled amphotericin B deoxycholate and observed lesion absorption in subsequent CT examinations. To our knowledge, this is the first published case of <italic>T. marneffei</italic> mediastinitis and first use of inhaled antifungal monotherapy on patients with <italic>T. marneffei</italic> infection.</p>