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Case Reports: Rare disease
Subcutaneous zygomycosis in an immunocompetent patient caused by Basidiobolus ranarum
  1. Hemanth Kumar Kadhirvelu1,
  2. Murugan S2,
  3. Ramya Ramakrishnan3 and
  4. Thayanidhi Premamalini1
  1. 1Department of Microbiology, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, SRIHER, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
  2. 2Department of Dermatology, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, SRIHER, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
  3. 3Department of General Surgery, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, SRIHER, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
  1. Correspondence to Dr Thayanidhi Premamalini; premamalini.t{at}sriramachandra.edu.in

Abstract

Zygomycosis is a fungal infection in humans caused by orders Mucorales and Entomophthorales. The incidence of Mucorales causing mucormycosis is on a rise and is well documented, whereas Entomophthorales is rare. Among Entomophthorales, infections caused by Conidiobolus are more common than Basidiobolus. Here we present a case of subcutaneous basidiobolomycosis in a female patient. The patient had hyperpigmentation in the thigh region for 6 months and serous discharge for 4 months. All initial findings suggested the inflammatory stage of morphea. Differential diagnoses of granuloma annulare, malignant melanoma and morphea were considered radiologically. A good suspicion of fungal aetiology by the dermatologist led to an appropriate diagnosis of subcutaneous basidiobolomycosis based on fungal culture and histopathological examination. Based on macroscopic and microscopic findings, the causative organism was confirmed to be Basidiobolus ranarum. The patient was started on oral potassium iodide and itraconazole and showed a good prognosis.

  • infectious diseases
  • dermatology

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2022-253515

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors HKK contributed to diagnosing the causative agent of the infection and also worked on collecting the necessary data and consent from the patient required for the case report. TP is the corresponding author who contributed to diagnosing and confirming the causative agent of the infection, and contributed to obtaining the permission from the institution for publication of the manuscript. MS contributed by suspecting a fungal aetiology for the infection and sending sample to confirm the same. RR contributed by suspecting an infectious aetiology for the condition.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.