Sporotrichosis: recurrent cutaneous, articular, and central nervous system infection in a renal transplant recipient.

A case of recurrent, disseminated sporotrichosis in a renal transplant recipient is reported in which two joints, the skin, and the central nervous system were involved. The disease recurred both eight months and three years after the initial treatment with amphotericin B. The second course of therapy with amphotericin B required systemic and intraarticular administration of the drug. The third course of therapy included systemic and intrathecal administration. The function of the cadaveric transplanted kidney was maintained throughout the first recurrence of disease by careful reduction of immunosuppressive therapy and attention to the level of antifungal therapy. The kidney could not be salvaged after the second recurrence because of continued amphotericin B nephrotoxicity; however, the patient was cured of his infection. Sporothrix (Sporotrichum) schenckii may be a difficult organism to eradicate in chronically immunosuppressed patients, but the disease it causes may be successfully treated with aggressive systemic therapy.