A rare presentation of blastomycosis as a multi-focal infection involving the spine, pleura, lungs, and psoas muscles in a Saudi male patient: a case report

BACKGROUND: Blastomycosis is a disease caused by the fungus Blastomyces—a thermally dimorphic fungus that can cause granulomatous and/or purulent infection. CASE PRESENTATION: We report here a case of chronic blastomycosis infection in a 24-year-old male patient from Saudi Arabia who presented with recurrent skin abscesses associated with deep-seated and multilevel paraspinal (dorsal and lumbar) collections and bilateral empyema with pulmonary involvement and bilateral psoas abscesses. The diagnosis was made after a CT-guided pleural biopsy revealed the characteristic histopathological findings of blastomycosis. The patient underwent several drainage procedures and was successfully treated with a long-term course of oral itraconazole. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic blastomycosis may have clinical and radiologic features similar to thoracic tuberculosis or malignant disease. There is no definite clinical symptom of blastomycosis, and thus a high degree of suspicion is required for early diagnosis. This case is a rare form of blastomycosis with chronic multifocal purulent infection and is the second case of blastomycosis reported in Saudi Arabia.