A 54-year-old man presented with candida tropicalis meningitis after exploration of the mastoid. He responded well to the combined intravenous administration of amphotericin B and 5 fluorocytosine. But 5 fluorocytosine had to be withdrawn when the candida proved to be resistant to this antifungal agent. However, the patient made an uneventful recovery. This seems to be the first report of a candida tropicalis meningitis in an otherwise healthy adult patient in this country.

Infection of the meninges with candida remains rare (Black, 1970). Most of them are caused by candida albicans in patients with some other underlying conditions or those on prolonged antibiotic, corticosteroid, cytotoxic, immunosuppresive therapies. The purpose of this brief communication is to draw attention to its occurrence in a healthy patient following exploration of the mastoid for chronic suppurative middle-ear disease.

At Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, over a 5-year period (1974 to 1978) 15 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx or hypopharynx have had planned 2,000 Rad Telecobalt therapy followed by supraglottic horizontal laryngectomy. Five patients following surgery had a further 3,600–4,000 Rad Telecobalt therapy.

The peri-operative complications, in addition to those of whole organ resection, included debilitating laryngeal incompetence in three patients, two of whom underwent total laryngectomy. All 15 patients have remained free of recurrent disease for 2 years and 10 have been free for 3 or more years. One patient dies 4 years after surgery from a primary bronchial carcinoma.