Scedosporium apiospermum is an asexual state of Pseudallescheria boydii which has been isolated from soil, sewage, and decaying vegetation. It can cause cutaneous infections by traumatic implantation of the contaminant due to penetrating injury. This ubiquitous fungus cause not only mycetoma, but also infections of variety of body sites including the skin. The localized skin infection due to this organism is much rare than mycetoma. We report a case of cutaneous S. apiospermum infection occurred in 80-year-old male. The skin lesion was manifested by a 8.0 x 4.0 cm-sized erythematous plaque with pustules and crusts on the dorsum of right hand. The fungal culture from the biopsy specimen on Sabouraud's dextrose agar showed white to gray colored cottony colonies of S. apiospermum. The nucleotide sequence of internal transcribed spacer for clinical isolate was identical to that of S. apiospermum strain IHEM 23829. The patient was treated with oral fluconazole for 3 months.
Agar ; Aged, 80 and over ; Base Sequence ; Biopsy ; Fluconazole ; Fungi ; Glucose ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Mycetoma ; Pseudallescheria ; Scedosporium* ; Sequence Analysis, DNA* ; Sewage ; Skin* ; Soil

Pseudallescheria boydii KNU13-2 was isolated from crop field soil and identified by analysis of internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA and morphological characteristics. In the literature, P. boydii has been mentioned as a human pathogen. This is the first record of P. boydii isolated from crop field soil in Korea.
DNA, Ribosomal ; Fungi ; Humans ; Korea ; Pseudallescheria* ; Soil*

Scedosporium apiospermum, an asexual state of Pseudallescheria boydii, is a widely distributed mould that can be found in the soil, manure, stagnant water and decaying vegetation. It has become an emerging pathogen among immunosuppressed patients but it can also cause infections in immunocompetent patients by penetrating trauma. This fungus is a classical cause of mycetoma and the localized skin infections caused by this mould are much rarer than mycetoma. We report a case of cutaneous S. apiospermum infection in a 79-year-old woman. She had erythematous plaque with crust and violaceous supprative nodules on the right forearm. The culture from pus showed typical white to gray colored cottony colonies of S. apiospermum. Treatment was started with voriconazole effectively. Skin lesions completely cured with no reccurence. Thus, voriconazole shows to be an effective treatment for Scedosporium infection.
Female ; Forearm ; Fungi ; Humans ; Manure ; Mycetoma ; Pseudallescheria ; Pyrimidines ; Scedosporium ; Skin ; Soil ; Suppuration ; Triazoles

Scedosporium(S) apiospermum is the asexual stage of Pseudallescheria boydii. The organism has been isolated from polluted water, soil, sewage and potted plants in a hospital with low virulence. This ubiquitous fungus causes not only mycetoma, but also infections of variety of body sites including the skin. Localized skin infection without grain production due to this organism is much rarer than mycetoma. Infection may occur via direct inoculation and usually affects the extremities. We report a case of localized cutaneous infection due to S. apiospermum which occurred in a 79-year old female. She presented multiple erythematous papulopustules on the right wrist. Culture isolation for definitive diagnosis showed S. apiospermum. The patient was treated successfully with oral itraconazole 200 mg daily for 4 weeks.
Edible Grain ; Extremities ; Female ; Fungi ; Humans ; Itraconazole ; Mycetoma ; Pseudallescheria ; Scedosporium ; Sewage ; Skin ; Soil ; Wrist

Scedosporium apiospermum, an asexual form of Pseudallescheria boydii, is a saprophytic mold with a worldwide distribution. It may cause severe pulmonary or disseminated infections in immunocompromised patients who have undergone organ transplantation, have hematological malignancies, or have received corticosteroid therapy. However, in immunocompetent patients, it usually produces localized infection and has been reported to cause pneumonia after near-drowning in polluted water. We present here the case of an immunocompetent 72-year-old woman with pneumonia caused by S. apiospermum.
Aged ; Female ; Fungi ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Near Drowning ; Organ Transplantation ; Pneumonia ; Pseudallescheria ; Scedosporium ; Transplants

Scedosporium apiospermum, the anamorph of Pseudallescheria boydii, is a ubiquitous saprophytic fungus. S. apiospermum can cause life-threatening infections usually in immunocompromised patients or after near-drowning incidents. Here, we report the first case of disseminated infection caused by S. apiospermum after near-drowning in Korea. A 44-year-old healthy man developed aspiration pneumonia, followed by multiple brain abscesses, and endopthalmitis, after a near-drowning incident in a septic tank. S. apiospermum infection was diagnosed on the 33rd day after the incident had occurred. The patient died from the progressive renal failure 255 days after incident, although he had been treated with voriconazole.
Adult ; Brain Abscess ; Fungi ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Korea ; Near Drowning ; Pneumonia, Aspiration ; Pseudallescheria ; Pyrimidines ; Renal Insufficiency ; Scedosporium ; Triazoles

We report a case of pulmonary fungal ball of Pseudallescheria boydii (Scedosporium apiospermum, the anamorph) and the result of LSU rDNA D2 region sequencing of the clinical isolate. An immunocompetent 58-year-old female suffered 2-year history of hemoptysis. Her symptom persisted despite the administration of oral itraconazole, even though the clinical, radiological, and histological findings suggested Aspergilloma. In the fungal culture, the typical morphology of S. apiospermum was observed. Even though the sequencing using LSU rDNA D2 region identified the organism as Pseudallescheria ellipsoidea, one of the P. boydii complex, the further investigation of ours suggested that the species in P. boydii complex could not be differentiated from each other by the sequencing of LSU rDNA D2 region.
DNA, Ribosomal ; Female ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Itraconazole ; Middle Aged ; Pseudallescheria ; Scedosporium

Scedosporium(S.) apiospermum is the asexual stage of Pseudallescheria boydii. It has been isolated from soil, plant debris, polluted water and sewage. It is an opportunistic organism with low virulence. Infection may occur via direct inoculation. This ubiquitous fungus causes not only mycetoma, but also infections of a variety of body sites including the skin. Localized skin infection without granule or grain production due to this organism is much rarer than mycetoma. We report a case of cutaneous S. apiospermum infection which occurred in a 69-year-old woman. The lesion was manifested by a 5.0 x 4.0 cm-sized, scaly erythematous plaque on the dorsum of the right hand. The fungal culture from the biopsy specimen on Sabouraud's dextrose agar showed white to gray colored floccose colonies of S. apiospermum. The patient was treated with 200 mg of itraconazole daily for 3 months. Skin lesions were completely cured and recurrence has not been observed to date.
Agar ; Aged ; Biopsy ; Edible Grain ; Female ; Fungi ; Glucose ; Hand ; Humans ; Itraconazole ; Mycetoma ; Plants ; Pseudallescheria ; Recurrence ; Scedosporium* ; Sewage ; Skin* ; Soil ; Virulence

Scedosporium apiospermum, an anamorph of Pseudallescheria boydii, is a ubiquitous saprophytic mold. Now a day, S. apiospermum is an emerging pathogen related to a significant morbidity and high mortality in transplant recipients. For the first time in Korea, we report a case of disseminated infection caused by S. apiospermum after liver transplantation. A 47-year-old woman underwent living donor liver transplantataion for billiary cirrhosis. She was treated with cyclosporine A, methylprednisolone, and prophylactic antibiotics including amphotericin B. She was found to have developed pneumonia and brain abscess at postoperative day 9 and 17 by chest X-ray and brain CT, respectively. Cultures of endotracheal aspirates and aspirates of brain abscess yielded S. apiospermum. Despite of antifungal therapy with amphotericin B, voriconazole, and caspofungin and removal of mycotic aneurysm of the brain, the patient died on postoperative day 33.
Amphotericin B ; Aneurysm, Infected ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Brain ; Brain Abscess ; Cyclosporine ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Fungi ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; Living Donors ; Methylprednisolone ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Pneumonia ; Pseudallescheria ; Scedosporium* ; Thorax ; Transplantation

Scedosporium (S.) apiospermum is the asexual stage of Pseudallescheria (P.) boydi. The organism is ubiquitous in nature, and has a world-wide distribution. It has been isolated from soil, plant debris, polluted water and sewage. It is an opportunistic organism with low virulence. Infection may occur via direct inoculation and usually affects the extremities. We report a case of cutaneous S. apiospermum infection which occurred in a 58-year-old male during immunosuppressive therapy, 3 months after a kidney transplantation. He presented with an one-month history of cutaneous nodules on the dorsum of the right foot. Cultural isolation showed S. apiospermum and we treated him daily with itraconazole and drainage.
Drainage ; Extremities ; Foot ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Itraconazole ; Kidney Transplantation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Plants ; Pseudallescheria ; Scedosporium* ; Sewage ; Soil ; Virulence