Fatal pneumonia caused by Burkholderia cepacia 9 months after resection of aspergilloma

A 69-year-old man developed an episode of severe community-acquired pneumonia 9 months after resection of aspergilloma. Although Aspergillus fumigatus was also isolated in the pleural cavity, it did not invade the remaining lung parenchyma. The patient developed progressive bilateral pneumonia leading to death from respiratory failure. Burkholderia cepacia was considered as prime pathogen, as it was repeatedly cultured from sputum and tracheal secretions, as well as the autopsy lung. B. cepacia is resistant to most antibiotics, and seldom causes pneumonia in patients without cystic fibrosis or chronic granulomatous disease. The precise reason that this apparently immunocompetent patient developed B. cepacia pneumonia remains unknown.