awadhesh pandey

Thymoma is a rare malignancy with usual location in the antero-superior mediastinum. Occurrence of an extra-mediastinal thymic malignancy in the neck with lung metastasis and without involvement of the mediastinum is an extremely rare condition. Staging systems and treatment guidelines are defined for mediastinal thymomas but not for ectopically located thymomas.

38-year-old female presented with the chief complaint of a progressive neck swelling, located predominantly in the right lateral neck, extending to the midline. Computed Tomography showed a heterogenous peripherally enhancing mass with likely origin from the thyroid gland. The mass measured 12 x 6 x 3.5 cm in size and extended from the hyoid bone superiorly to the suprasternal location inferiorly. Additionally, there were multiple, variable sized subpleural nodules scattered in both lungs, suggestive of lung metastases. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry findings from neck mass confirmed the diagnosis of Thymoma Type A. 

Thymoma is a rare tumor that typically does not show aggressive behaviour. Extra-mediastinal neck thymoma with bilateral lung metastasis is an extremely rare presentation. Thymoma presenting as neck swelling without mediastinal extension on radiology, poses a diagnostic dilemma. Histopathology with immunohistochemistry helps to confirm the final diagnosis. Surgery is the mainstay for the management of localized tumors with adjuvant treatment reserved for incompletely resected tumors or advanced stage. Systemic metastasis are rare in this indolent tumor and chemotherapy regimens are investigational. Clinical presentation, prognostic factors, staging and management guidelines are still not well defined for this rare tumor with atypical location.

Trichosporon species are ubiquitous in nature which are associated with fatal opportunistic invasive infections, especially in immunocompromised patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the epidemiological and clinical details, as well as the antifungal susceptibility pattern of the patients with Trichosporon infections.

In total, 50 clinical isolates of Trichosporon species from various samples were included in this study. The samples were isolated over a period of 18 months from patients in a tertiary hospital in North India. The isolates were characterised phenotypically with Vitek MS (bioMérieux, France). Trichosporon spp. were isolated from urine (30%), nail (30%), tissue (16%), pleural fluid (14%), and sputum (5%). In total, majority of the isolates were of Trichosporon asahii (92%),followed by Trichosporon mucoides (6%), and Trichosporon ovoides (2%). It is noteworthy that most of the reported cases were from intensive care unit (34%).

Intravenous catheters, antibiotics, and antifungal uptake were significantly associated risk factors with Trichosporon infection. All invasive isolates were observed to be resistant in vitro to caspofungin and exhibited high minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against amphotericin B, fluconazole, and 5-flucytosine. The MICs for voriconazole and posaconazole were low.

Trichosporonosis is being increasingly reported all around the world, including India. The results of this study highlighted the importance of early detection and treatment for this emerging yeast and also added to the ongoing surveillance for the antifungal susuceptibility pattern for this fungus.