All issues > Volume 37(2); 1994

Case Report

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1994;37(2):269-275. Published online February 15, 1994.

Candida Esophagitis in Infancy-A Report of 3 Cases

Ho Sung HS Kim², Youn Woo YW Kim², Jae Geon JG Sim², Beom Soo BS Park², Hoan Jong HJ Lee², Joong Gon JG Kim², Jeong Kee JK Seo², Je Geun JG Chi¹

¹Department of Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

We experienced 3 cases of Candida esophagitis in infancy which were diagnosed by esophageal endoscopy, First case, 10 month-old boy with combined immune deficiency had suffered from oral thrush and poor feeding for more than 4 months. Esophageal endoscopy revealed multiple whitish creamy patches on the friable erythematous and necrotic mucosa of the esophagus, He was firstly treated with amphotericin-B but in vain, Then he was treated with fluconazole (5 mg/kg/day) and in a few days oral thrush nearly disappeared and endoscopy after 2 weeks revealed complete healing of oral thrush, poor feeding and intermittent fever. He was treated with fluconazole and oral thrush was imporved. He was discharged without follow up endoscopy. Third case, 4 month-old girl with liver the endoscopic examination of esophageal varix, First 2 cases showed multiple small filling defects and decreased motility on esophagography. Candida antigen was not detected in the sera of all 3 cases of candidiasis. We conclude that Candidia esophagitis should be suspected when an infant has been suffering from long-term treatmet-resistant oral thrush and poor feeding and that esophageal endoscopy can be easily performed in infants also and useful in diagnosing esophagitis and assessing the outcome of treatment.

Keywords :Candida esophagitis, Esophageal endoscopy, Fluconazole