SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE FUNGEMIA, A POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCE OF THE TREATMENT OF CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE COLITIS WITH A PROBIOTICUM

The yeast Saccharomyces boulardii is a biotherapeutic agent used for the prevention and treatment of several gastrointestinal diseases, such as diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile, in addition to the antibiotic therapy. In this study we report a case of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fungemia in a patient with Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD) treated orally with S. boulardii in association with vancomycin. The identification of the S. cerevisiae was confirmed by molecular technique. Fungemia is a rare, but a serious complication to treatment with probiotics. We believe it is important to remind the clinicians of this risk when prescribing probiotics, especially to immunocompromised patients.