Disseminated Cryptococcosis Presenting as Cellulitis Diagnosed by Laser Capture Microdissection: A Case Report and Literature Review

Disseminated cryptococcosis primarily affects immunosuppressed patients and has a poor outcome if diagnosis and treatment are delayed. Skin lesions are rarely manifest causing misdiagnosis. We present a case of cryptococcal cellulitis with severe pain in a kidney transplant recipient on long-term immunosuppressive therapy. Multiple organs were involved, and there was cutaneous dissemination of the lesions. Histopathology revealed abundant yeast-like cells with wide capsular halos in subcutaneous tissue, suggesting Cryptococcus spp. infection. Laser capture microdissection (LCM)-PCR on skin biopsies confirmed Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii. A literature review of 17 cases of disseminated cryptococcosis with cutaneous cellulitis or panniculitis in HIV-negative individuals found that over half the patients (52.9%, 9/17) had a history of glucocorticoid therapy, and that the most common site was the legs (76.5%, 13/17). C. neoformans was the main pathogenic species, accounting for 88.2% (15/17) of cases. Fungal cellulitis should be included in the differential diagnosis of cellulitis that fails to respond to antimicrobial therapy in HIV-negative immunosuppressed individuals. Non-culture-based molecular techniques aid in rapid pathogen identification in histologically positive, unculturable specimens.