Korean Journal of Medical Mycology  2003;8(1):21-25

A Case of Onychomycosis Caused by Fusarium solani.

Sung Wook LIM 1 ; Soon Wook KWON ; Moo Kyu SUH ; Ho Chung LEE ; Jin Hyouk CHOI ; Jeong Woo LEE ; Gyoung Yim HA

Affiliations

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Keywords

Onychomycosis; Fusarium solani

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Although dermatophytes are still the main etiologic agents of onychomycosis, some species of nondermatophytic molds and yeasts are also capable of invading the nails. Fusarium (F.) solani is a nondermatophytic mold which is saprophytic fungus in soil. Onychomycosis due to Fusarium species almost always involve the great toenails, particularly in the presence of traumatic or dystrophic abnormalities. We report a case of toenail onychomycosis caused by F. solani in a 42-year-old female. The patient presented with typical distal subungual onychomycosis. Direct microscopic examination of scrapings on the potassium hydroxide preparation revealed fungal elements and repeated cultures on Sabouraud's dextrose agar showed the same whitish to cream-colored, cottony colonies. Multiple, sickle-shaped, multiseptate macroconidia and long, slender monophialides were observed in the slide culture. We confirmed F. solani by gross and light microscopic morphology of the colony. The patient was treated with 250 mg of terbinafine daily for 3 months.