Saprochaete clavata infection in immunosuppressed patients: Systematic review of cases and report of the first oral manifestation, focusing on differential diagnosis

Background: Saprochaete clavata infection is an emerging issue in immunosuppressed patients, causing fulminant fungaemia. The purpose of this systematic review of cases is to retrieve all cases of S. clavata infection and describe oral lesions as the first manifestation of S. clavata infection. Methods: We report the first case of intraoral S. clavata infection in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) affected subject, presenting as multiple grayish rapidly growing ulcerated swellings, and provide a review of all published cases of infection caused by S. clavata, according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, conducted by searching SCOPUS, Medline, and CENTRAL databases. Only articles in English were considered. Individual patient data were analyzed to identify risk factors for S. clavata infection. Results: Seventeen of 68 retrieved articles were included in the review reporting data on 96 patients (mean age 51.8 years, 57 males and 38 females). Most cases were disseminated (86) with a 60.2% mortality rate. Ninety-five were hematological patients, with AML being the most common (57 cases). Conclusions: S. clavata infection in immunosuppressed patients has a poor prognosis: middle-age patients, male gender and Acute Myeloid Leukemia should be considered risk factors. In immunosuppressed patients, the clinical presentation can be particularly unusual, imposing difficult differential diagnosis, as in the reported case.