Trichosporon Infection

Yeast exist throughout nature in association with soil, plants, mammals, and fish. As a result of this continued exposure, all humans are exposed to many different types of yeast through a variety of different routes. Recently, because of the increased population of immunocompromised patients and the extensive use of different antifungals, the incidence of infections due to non-Candida yeast has increased. Of these classic “nonpathogenic” yeast, Trichosporon species have been increasingly described producing deep-seated and disseminated infections that are difficult to predict and diagnose. In addition, the different species of Trichosporon have been found to be less susceptible or resistant to commonly used antifungals. Because of this intrinsic variation in antifungal susceptibility and the fact that these infections are generally seen in severely immunocompromised hosts, they are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, despite their known “nonpathogenic” characteristics described in superficial infections.