Invasive mediastinal aspergillosis with tracheal perforation in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia

Pulmonary aspergillosis is a life-threatening complication in immunocompromised patients. It is an opportunistic disease, which predominantly occurs in the lungs, although dissemination to virtually any organ is possible.

We report a case of a 35 year old male with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who presented with a right lateral perforation of the trachea due to invasive aspergillosis infection. Initially bronchoscopic stenting was performed with initiation of an antimycotic therapy which consisted of liposomal Amphotericin B and Caspofungin. Due to a rather large tracheal mycotic perforation the indication for surgical treatment was given in order to allow the start of a timely highdose chemotherapy.