Extreme laryngeal candidiasis: airway obstruction

Abstract

We describe the case of a 33-year-old female smoker who presented to the Accident and Emergency department with a 1-day history of rapidly evolving airway compromise. She had no preceding illness or other objective signs/symptoms on presentation, had a history of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and a previous opioid addiction. Following failed endotracheal intubation, the airway was secured with an emergency surgical tracheostomy. Subsequent direct laryngoscopy revealed a severely diseased glottis and supraglottic area, from which biopsy samples revealed a multiple drug-resistant strain of Candida albicans requiring specialist microbiology input and antifungal treatment. We describe the presentation, investigation, management and outcome of this rare case, along with a literature review of the subject.