Malassezia Pulmonary Vasculitis in an Infant on Long-Term Intralipid Therapy

Abstract

MALASSEZIA FURFUR (formerly Pityrosporum orbiculare) is a fungus of low pathogenicity known to cause diseases of the skin. Members of the genus malassezia lack the ability to synthesize medium-chain and long-chain fatty acids and therefore require an exogenous supply of these lipids for growth.¹ The skin is one of the few sites in the human body sufficiently rich in fatty acids to meet their metabolic requirements. Thus, infections attributed to malassezia are usually superficial and include such conditions as tinea versicolor, blepharitis, and dacryocystitis.We describe a premature infant maintained on long-term parenteral nutrition, including Intralipid (Cutter Laboratories, Berkeley, . . .