Content area

Full text

AuthorAffiliation

Jumanah N. Algazaq [1] and Kevan Akrami [2] and Fernando Martinez [3] and Allen McCutchan [2] and Ajay R. Bharti [2]

Academic Editor: Gernot Walder

1, Department of Health Sciences International, The University of California, San Diego, CA, USA, ucsd.edu

2, Division of Infectious Diseases, The University of California, San Diego, CA, USA, ucsd.edu

3, Division of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA, mdanderson.org

Received May 12, 2017; Revised Oct 4, 2017; Accepted Oct 24, 2017

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

1. Introduction

Saccharomyces species are ubiquitous yeasts that have been used for centuries in baking and the production of beer and wine and are commonly known as baker’s or brewer’s yeast. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used as a probiotic for prophylaxis of antibiotic-associated diarrhea [1] and is also promoted as a nutritional supplement by health food enthusiasts. It is part of the normal flora of the oral, gastrointestinal, and respiratory tracts and the vaginal mucosa [2]. Severe opportunistic infections due to S. cerevisiae have been reported in patients with chronic disease, cancer, and immunosuppression presenting as fungemia, endocarditis, pneumonia, peritonitis, urinary tract infections, skin infections, and esophagitis [3]. Here, we describe the first case of S. cerevisiae laryngitis in a patient with a history of laryngeal carcinoma who also had oral lesions.

2. Case Report

A 63-year-old Caucasian female with squamous cell carcinoma of the vocal cords developed a small grayish lesion on the ventral surface of her tongue one month after local external radiation therapy (XRT). It gradually increased in size and the patient noticed 2 new lesions (3 × 2 cm and 4 × 2 cm), one on either side of the tongue (Figures 1(a) and 1(b)). The lesions had well-demarcated margins with slightly raised and rolled edges, without bleeding or discharge, and were initially painless, but later became extremely painful. Biopsy did not reveal any malignancy. Symptoms progressed and she developed shortness of breath, stridor, and hoarseness of voice that prompted evaluation by an otolaryngologist. Laryngoscopy revealed grayish exudates on both vocal cords that were similar in appearance to the oral lesions. No oropharyngeal mucositis was seen....

Show less