Search

The etiology of tinea capitis changes over time, mainly due to trends in migration. We report 19 cases of tinea capitis caused by Microsporum audouinii, an uncommon agent in South America, all of them confirmed by molecular methods. All patients were male. The average age was 6.1 years. Fifteen patients were residents of Rio de Janeiro city and four were from neighboring cities. Among the patients submitted to follow-up, griseofulvin was prescribed for eight of them. Due to medication shortages, terbinafine was prescribed for five patients, needing to be switched in three cases, with a bigger total average time until clinical improvement. The study reaffirms the emergence of a new etiological agent in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology.)

A 47-year-old woman who lived in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro and had abandoned her Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) therapy 3 years prior, was admitted to our hospital due to weight loss, cough, and fever for 2 weeks. The dermatologic examination established normochromic papules with molluscum-like central umbilication on the face (Figure 1) and hands, erythema and infiltration in the oral cavity (Figure 2), desquamative patches on the legs, and ulceration on right calcaneus (Figure 3). Her CD4 (T-cells) count was 47 cells/ mm. 3 Direct mycology examination and cultures for several agents were performed. The mycology culture done from her skin and sputum grew Sporothrix 1 week after admission (Figure 4).

Background: The incidence of candidemia in our hospital has been stable over an 18-year period (1.3 episodes per 1000 admissions). Since March 2020, we have observed an increase in cases of candidemia., Methods: In March 2020, the hospital was prepared to receive patients with COVID-19, with cancellation of elective procedures, discharge of less sick patients and the activation of beds for COVID-19. We compared the incidence of candidemia in 2 periods: from January 2019 to February 2020 (period 1) and from March to September 2020 (period 2)., Results: We diagnosed 41 episodes of candidemia, 16 in period 1 and 25 in period 2 (9 COVID-19 patients). Compared with non-COVID-19 patients, COVID-19 patients with candidemia were more likely to be under mechanical ventilation (100% vs. 34.4%, P < .001). The median number of monthly admissions in period 1 and 2 was 723 (interquartile range 655-836) and 523 (interquartile range 389-574), respectively. The incidence of candidemia (per 1000 admissions) was 1.54 in period 1 and 7.44 in period 2 (P < .001). In period 2, the incidence of candidemia (per 1000 admissions) was 4.76 if we consider only cases of candidemia in non-COVID-19 patients, 2.68 if we consider only cases of candidemia in COVID-19 patients and 14.80 considering only admissions of patients with COVID-19., Conclusions: The increase in the incidence of candidemia in our hospital may be attributed to 2 factors: a reduction in the number of admissions (denominator) and the occurrence of candidemia in COVID-19 patients., (© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Background: Candidemia is the most frequent invasive fungal disease in hospitalized patients, and is associated with high mortality rates. The main objective of this study was to evaluate changes in the epidemiology of candidemia at a tertiary care hospital in a 21-year period., Methods: We evaluated all episodes of candidemia diagnosed between 1996 and 2016 at a University-affiliated tertiary care hospital in Brazil. We arbitrarily divided the study period in 3: 1996-2002 (period 1), 2003-2009 (period 2) and 2010-2016 (period 3). Incidence rates were calculated using hospital admissions as denominator., Results: We observed 331 episodes of candidemia. The incidence was 1.30 episodes per 1000 admissions, with no significant change over time. Candida albicans (37.5%), C. tropicalis (28.1%), C. parapsilosis (18.4%) and C. glabrata (6.9%) were the most frequent species. The proportion of patients receiving treatment increased (65.5%, 79.4% and 74.7% in periods 1, 2 and 3, respectively, p = 0.04), and the median time from candidemia to treatment initiation decreased from 4 days in period 1 (range 0-32 days) to 2 days in period 2 (range 0-33 days) and 2 days in period 3 (range 0-14 days, p < 0.001). We observed a significant decrease in the use of deoxycholate amphotericin B (47.4%, 14.8% and 11.9%), and an increase in the use of echinocandins (0%, 2.8% and 49.1%; p < 0.001). The APACHE II score increased over time (median 16, 17.5, and 22, p < 0.001). The overall 30-day mortality was 58.9%, and did not change significantly over the study period., Conclusions: There was an improvement in patient care, with an increase in the proportion of patients receiving treatment and a decrease in the time to treatment initiation, but no improvement in the outcome, possibly because the proportion of sicker patients increased over time., (Copyright © 2018 Sociedade Brasileira de Infectologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Invasive fusariosis (IF) is an infection with Fusarium spp. fungi that primarily affects patients with hematologic malignancies and hematopoietic cell transplant recipients. A cutaneous portal of entry is occasionally reported. We reviewed all cases of IF in Brazil during 2000-2010, divided into 2 periods: 2000-2005 (period 1) and 2006-2010 (period 2). We calculated incidence rates of IF and of superficial infections with Fusarium spp. fungi identified in patients at a dermatology outpatient unit. IF incidence for periods 1 and 2 was 0.86 cases versus 10.23 cases per 1,000 admissions (p<0.001), respectively; superficial fusarial infection incidence was 7.23 versus 16.26 positive cultures per 1,000 superficial cultures (p<0.001), respectively. Of 21 cases of IF, 14 showed a primary cutaneous portal of entry. Further studies are needed to identify reservoirs of these fungi in the community and to implement preventive measures for patients at risk.

Background: Invasive fusariosis (IF) is a rare but often fatal fungal infection in immunosuppressed patients. In 2007, cases of IF above the expected epidemiologic baseline were detected in the hematology ward of a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Possible sources of infection were investigated by performing environmental sampling and patient isolate collection, followed by molecular typing. Isolates from dermatology patients with superficial fusariosis were included in the study for comparison to molecular types found in the community., Methods: Environmental sampling focused on water-related sources in and around the hematology ward. Initially, we characterized 166 clinical and environmental isolates using the Fusarium translation elongation factor 1α (EF-1α) genetic locus. Isolates included 68 collected from water-related sources in the hospital environment, 55 from 18 hematology patients, and 43 from the skin/nails of 40 outpatients seen at the hospital dermatology clinic. Multi-locus sequence typing was performed on Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) species 1 and 2 isolates to investigate their relatedness further., Results: Most of the hematology samples were FSSC species 2, with species type FSSC 2-d the most commonly isolated from these patients. Most of the outpatient dermatology samples were also FSSC 2, with type 2-d again predominating. In contrast, environmental isolates from water sources were mostly Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC) and those from air samples mostly Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC). A third of the environmental samples were FSSC, with species types FSSC 1-a and FSSC 1-b predominating., Conclusions: Fusarium isolate species types from hematology patient infections were highly similar to those recovered from dermatology patients in the community. Four species types (FSSC 1-a, 1-b, 2-d and 2-f) were shared between hematology patients and the environment. Limitations in environmental sampling do not allow for nosocomial sources of infection to be ruled out. Future studies will focus on environmental factors that may have influenced the prevalence of FSSC fusariosis in this hematology ward.