Malassezia pachydermatis Infections

To the Editor: Chang et al. (March 12 issue) 1 describe an outbreak of Malassezia pachydermatis in a neonatal intensive care unit. Several prior studies have reported similar infections in neonates, 2 , 3 and there is a report of an adult with canaliculitis due to M. pachydermatis infection. 4 We report a severe systemic infection with M. pachydermatis in an adult. A 21-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia underwent an allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, which was subsequently complicated by primary graft failure. Thirty-one days after the transplantation, he began to have fevers (temperature, up to 38.3°C) with rigors, arthralgias, and respiratory distress. Two . . .