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We report a 74-year-old male presented to an outpatient dermatology clinic in Manaus, Amazonas, with a one-year history of pruritic, keloidal lesions on his left lower extremity. Histopathology showed round structures in reticular dermis. Grocott methenamine silver stain revealed numerous round yeasts with thick double walls, occurring singly or in chains connected by tubular projections. The diagnosis was lobomycosis. Although the keloidal lesions presented by this patient are typical of lobomycosis, their linear distribution along the left lower limb is unusual.

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB

Histoplasmosis and paracoccidioidomycosis are emerging infections in Spain associated with immigration and travelling. In last three decades a total of 128 cases of histoplasmosis have been reported in Spain, 59 in travellers, 63 in immigrants, three associated to drug abuse, two in laboratory workers, and one in a solid organ transplant receptor. In 1969 the first Spanish case of paracoccidioidomycosis was published and a total of 21 cases have been reported so far. Those patients suffered from the chronic form of the disease with period of latency as long as 50 years. Other endemic mycoses such as blastomycosis, coccidioidomycosis, lobomycosis, pythiosis and sporotrichosis have not increased in frequency. Microbiological cultures of endemic fungi must be handled in facilities which comply with international biosafety regulations and must also be taken into account for cultures from patients with suspected endemic mycosis.

Lobomycosis is a cutaneous infection of tropical and subtropical regions caused by the fungus Lacazia loboi, which still has a controversial taxonomical position. The first description of the disease and fungus was made in 1930 by Jorge Lobo. It is a chronic disease with predominance of lesions similar to keloids, in exposed areas, limited to skin and semimucosa. There is no systemic involvement and patients maintain a good general health. Diagnosis is confirmed by direct or histopathologic exam and, until present, the fungus has not been cultivated. Surgery is the treatment of choice for isolated lesions, but there are frequent recurrences. Good therapeutic responses have been reported with clofazimine, with or without itraconazole, and with 5-fluorocytosine. This disease should be recognized by dermatologists worldwide because, although restricted to the Amazon region, it has been observed in other locations. Research development and achievement of new knowledge in molecular biology and genetic engineering of lobomycosis are of utmost importance because they may, in the future, lead to the culture of the fungus in the laboratory and to a better understanding of its pathogenesis, transmission mechanism, and new methods of diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Fungal infections are common in tropical countries and can have an important impact on public health. Lobomycosis is a common fungal infection in the tropical rain forest of South America, and paracoccidioidomycosis (South American blastomycosis) is a widespread and sometimes severe illness. Penicilliosis marneffei is an opportunistic infection of AIDS patients in southeast Asia. Chromoblastomycosis and mycetomas are causes of morbidity around the world. Sporotrichosis is a worldwide subcutaneous mycosis with a high incidence in tropical countries and is an important illness in immunocompromised patients. Rhinosporidiosis was classed as a fungal infection but is now considered a protistan parasite that belongs to the class Mesomycetozoea. It is included in this review because of its historical classification. In the past, most of these mycoses were restricted to specific geographic areas and natural reservoirs. There are, however, situations in which people from other regions come in contact with the pathogen. A common situation involves an accidental contamination of a traveler or worker who has contact with a tropical mycosis. Even minor trauma to the skin surface or inhalation of the fungal conidia can infect the patient. Thus recognition of the clinical symptoms and the dermatologic findings of the diseases, as well as the geographic distribution of the pathogens, can be critical in diagnosis of the tropical mycoses. This review discusses some of the more common tropical subcutaneous and systemic mycoses, as well as their signs, symptoms, methods of diagnosis, and therapies. Learning objective At the completion of this learning activity, participants should be able to recognize the clinical and histologic presentations of tropical fungal diseases with cutaneous manifestations and be familiar with the appropriate therapies.

Among the existing techniques for direct microscopy diagnosis in mycology, vinyl adhesive tape (VAT) preparations have proved their usefulness for Malassezia spp., Candida spp., and dermatophyte superficial infections. The collection and identification of fungal agents can be performed easily by the VAT technique, as demonstrated in this work, for the setting of some deep-seated cutaneous mycoses, where infectious agents can be observed in the horny layer of the epidermis in transepidermal elimination events. Preliminary results obtained in a series of 19 cases (chromomycosis, 12; lobomycosis, 5; paracoccidioidomycosis, 2) yielded positive results in 17 (89.47%). Failures for proper microscopic diagnosis detection happened in just 2 cases, 1 for chromomycosis and 1 for paracoccidioidomycosis. These results, although encouraging, were obtained from a relatively small patient population sample. Thus, the authors recommend further tests using this direct microscopy technique in a larger number of patients to validate these preliminary results and to explore its sensitivity in cases of small lesions.

This article reviews various unusual subcutaneous infections, including rhinosporidiosis, lobomycosis, and protothecosis. Clinical findings, pathology, mycology, and treatment are discussed for each disease.

Leg ulcers causing deep mycosis following fungi are encountered in temperate and tropical climates. They are usually asymetrical, and are located over trauma-prone areas of the legs. The ulcers are usually asympatomatic and insidious at onset. They are often confined to certain geographic regions; sporadic cases have, however, been seen elsewhere. The common deep mycoses causing leg ulcers are mycetoma, sporotrichosis, chromomycosis, and blastomycosis. Histoplasmosis and lobomycosis may occasionally produce bizarre leg ulcers. The causative fungus in them may either be identified through smears/histopathologic sections or on culture.