PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “SPOROTRICHOSIS”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Spook house sporotrichosis. A point-source outbreak of sporotrichosis associated with hay bale props in a Halloween haunted-house.

While isolated cases of sporotrichosis typically occur following contact with contaminated plant materials, outbreaks are distinctly unusual. A temporal increase in the incidence of sporotrichosis in a dermatology practice at a military installation in southwestern Oklahoma prompted an investigation. Patients with sporotrichosis presenting to a single dermatologist in the winter of 1992-1993 were interviewed, epidemiological data were collected, and fungal cultures were obtained from incriminated hay fields. Five patients presented with cutaneous sporotrichosis during a 5-week period beginning in December 1992. Four patients had maintained hay bales in a Halloween haunted house and the fifth patient had visited the house once. As in 3 previous reports, this outbreak was associated with stored hay or hay bales harvested in the US plains states. Contact with hay should be recognized as a risk factor for infection with Sporothrix schenckii. Outbreaks are possible given adequate intensity of exposure and may be difficult to recognize because of the delayed presentation of clinical illness.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A case of lymphangitic sporotrichosis occurring on both forearms with a published work review of cases of bilateral sporotrichosis in Japan.

The patient, 56-year-old man who was working as a clerk and a farmer, presented with nodules that had appeared on the dorsa of both his hands 3 months earlier. At the first examination, there were multiple dark-red nodules scattered on the fingers, dorsa and wrists of both hands. The nodules were up to 3 cm in diameter and had crusts in the incenters. The patient was suspected to suffer from prurigo and was subsequently treated with topical steroid, but the nodules did not respond. Therefore, a skin biopsy and fungal culture were performed, and the patient was finally diagnosed as having bilateral multiple sporotrichosis. He was then successfully treated with local thermotherapy and oral potassium iodide. Bilaterally-distributed lymphangitic sporotrichosis is very rare and often difficult to diagnose. Careful attention is required to avoid misdiagnosis.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2005

[Importance of the sporotrichosis asteroid body for the rapid diagnosis of sporotrichosis].

Eighty patients with cutaneous sporotrichosis were studied between 1985 and 1996. The investigation of asteroid bodies (AB) was done by direct microscopic slides examination of pus obtained from the lesions. Patients were divided into two groups: 32 consulting before 1989, and 48 consulting after 1990. In the first group, material was obtained as usual by simple digital pressure of the most productive lesion, and then wet preparation microscopic examination was performed. Fourteen patients with AB were found in this group (43.75%). In the second group the initial pus was discarded and new samples were taken more deeply, and examined up to five slides for each patient. The slides were carefully examined at light microscope. Fourty five patients with AB were detected in this group (93.75%). All eighty samples were cultured and all of them were positive for Sporothrix schenckii. The change of methodology to obtain the samples and the exhaustive observations, increased the possibility of AB detection. ABs are of great diagnostic value and might be of importance to initiate treatment before reporting culture.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Sporotrichosis masquerading as pyoderma gangrenosum: case report and review of 19 cases of sporotrichosis.

We present the case of a 59-year-old woman who had large ulcerations on her right leg that were diagnosed initially as pyoderma gangrenosum and treated with three immunosuppressive agents (cyclosporin, prednisone and azathioprine) for 6 months. Results of a biopsy at 6 months showed numerous cigar-shaped bodies consistent with Sporothrix schenckii; identification was confirmed by tissue culture. A retrospective review was performed for all cases diagnosed as sporotrichosis from tissue culture or biopsy specimens at the Mayo Clinic. Nineteen cases were identified. The present case was the only one in which fungal organisms were visible on histological examination. The present case emphasizes the importance of making a definitive histological diagnosis in unusual ulcer cases or in suspected cases of pyoderma gangrenosum before the initiation of immunosuppressive therapy. The large number of cigar-shaped bodies in the tissue is a rare finding in sporothrix infection and has been reported in only two cases previously.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed2000

Practice guidelines for the management of patients with sporotrichosis. For the Mycoses Study Group. Infectious Diseases Society of America.

UNLABELLED: The recommendations for the treatment of sporotrichosis were derived primarily from multicenter, nonrandomized treatment trials, small retrospective series, and case reports; no randomized, comparative treatment trials have been reported. Most cases of sporotrichosis are non life-threatening localized infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissues that can be treated with oral antifungal agents. The treatment of choice for fixed cutaneous or lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis is itraconazole for 36 months. The preferred treatment for osteoarticular sporotrichosis also is itraconazole, but therapy must be continued for at least 12 months. Pulmonary sporotrichosis responds poorly to treatment. Severe infection requires treatment with amphotericin B; mild to moderate infection can be treated with itraconazole. Meningeal and disseminated forms of sporotrichosis are rare and usually require treatment with amphotericin B. AIDS patients most often have disseminated infection and require life-long suppressive therapy with itraconazole after initial use of amphotericin B. OVERVIEW: Sporotrichosis is caused by the dimorphic fungus Sporothrix schenckii, which is found throughout the world in decaying vegetation, sphagnum moss, and soil. The usual mode of infection is by cutaneous inoculation of the organism. Pulmonary and disseminated forms of infection, although uncommon, can occur when S. schenckii conidia are inhaled. Infections are most often sporadic and usually associated with trauma during the course of outdoor work. Infection can also be related to zoonotic spread from infected cats or scratches from digging animals, such as armadillos. Outbreaks have been well-described and often are traced back to activities that involved contaminated sphagnum moss, hay, or wood. Most cases of sporotrichosis are localized to the skin and subcutaneous tissues. Dissemination to osteoarticular structures and viscera is uncommon and appears to occur more often in patients who have a history of alcohol abuse or immunosuppression, especially AIDS. Spontaneous resolution of sporotrichosis is rare, and treatment is required for most patients. Although sporotrichosis localized to skin and subcutaneous tissues is readily treated, management of osteoarticular, other localized visceral, and disseminated forms of sporotrichosis is difficult. OBJECTIVE: The objective of these guidelines is to provide recommendations for the treatment of various forms of sporotrichosis. OUTCOMES: The desired outcomes of treatment include eradication of S. schenckii from tissues, resolution of symptoms and signs of active infection, and return of function of involved organs. In persons with AIDS, eradication of the organism may not be possible, but clinical resolution should be attained and subsequently maintained with suppressive antifungal therapy. EVIDENCE: The English-language literature on the treatment of sporotrichosis was reviewed. Although randomized, blinded, controlled treatment trials were sought, none were found to have been performed for the treatment of sporotrichosis. Therefore, most weight was placed on those reports that were derived from multicenter trials of specific treatment modalities for sporotrichosis. Small series from a single institution and individual case reports were accorded less importance. VALUES: The highest value was placed on clinical efficacy and the ability of the antifungal regimen to eradicate the organism, but safety, tolerability, and cost of therapy were also valued. BENEFITS AND COSTS: The benefits of successfully treating sporotrichosis accrue primarily for the patient. Because this infection is not spread from person-to-person, public health aspects of treatment are of minor importance. Most forms of sporotrichosis are not life-threatening; thus, therapy is aimed at decreasing morbidity, improving quality of life, and allowing the patient to return to occupational and familial pursuits. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1989

Sporotrichosis.

Sporotrichosis is a chronic fungal infection that most commonly involves the skin and lymphatics. It is classified into five forms: classic lymphocutaneous, fixed cutaneous, disseminated cutaneous, primary pulmonary, and systemic sporotrichosis. Its diagnosis is established by fungal culture or by direct immunofluorescence. Safe effective therapy for cutaneous sporotrichosis exists in the form of oral potassium iodide and local heat therapy. However, itraconazole, one of the newer triazole antimycotic agents, appears quite effective against Sporothrix schenckii and may provide a means of reducing both the length of therapy and the relapse rate. Systemic sporotrichosis, although still rare, is becoming more common, especially in immunosuppressed patients. Because of multisystem involvement, both diagnosis and management of patients with systemic sporotrichosis are difficult. Serologic antibody tests such as the slide latex agglutination test are useful to confirm the diagnosis and to determine the effectiveness of antifungal therapy. Intravenous amphotericin B is still considered the drug of choice for systemic sporotrichosis, but the search for a less toxic agent continues. Also, combination drug therapy and surgical intervention are necessary for some patients with extracutaneous sporotrichosis.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sporotrichosis in Himachal Pradesh (north India).

Sporotrichosis is being increasingly reported from a particular area of Himachal Pradesh, a state in north-west India. A skin-test survey was conducted using sporotrichin and peptido-rhamnomannan antigen among the population in the villages where 2 or more cases of sporotrichosis had been reported and results were compared with those for villages of the same where no case of sporotrichosis had been reported. The study was helped by local doctors, leaders and patients who were cured of sporotrichosis. The delayed-hypersensitivity positivity rates were significantly higher in case villages (range 22.9-40.0%) compared to control area (range 6.5-7.6%). Analysis by age showed that positivity rate increased with increase in age for both sexes. Analysis by occupation showed higher skin-test positivity in populations engaged in horticulture, nursery work, gardening, woodwork (43.2%) and farming (33.9%). The case villages have lower temperature and higher rainfall than the control villages. During the 1-year study period (1996-97), 25 cases of sporotrichosis were diagnosed: 16 cases were referred by doctors from the local area and 9 were from cases suspected during the skin-test survey. This study identifies Kangra district and adjoining areas in Himachal Pradesh as an endemic region for sporotrichosis and highlights the need for evaluation of geo-climatically similar areas.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Old and new therapies for sporotrichosis.

The old therapies for sporotrichosis--saturated solution of potassium iodide (SSKI) and amphotericin B--have largely been supplanted by itraconazole treatment. Although SSKI is effective for the treatment of lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis, it is difficult to administer and is frequently associated with side effects; response rates of >90% are associated with itraconazole therapy for lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis. Patients with osteoarticular sporotrichosis rarely have systemic symptoms and can be effectively treated with a prolonged course of itraconazole, thus obviating the need for intravenous amphotericin B therapy with its associated toxic effects. Pulmonary sporotrichosis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus continue to be difficult therapeutic problems, but itraconazole appears to be at least as effective as amphotericin B as treatment for these forms of sporotrichosis.

Amphotericin B↗
PubMed1980

Pulmonary sporotrichosis.

Sporotrichosis is frequently primary in the lungs, caused by inhalation or aspiration of spores of Sporothrix schenckii. The clinical features and roentgenographic changes are nonspecific and usually indistinguishable from reactivated pulmonary tuberculosis. Therefore, pulmonary sporotrichosis should be considered when the tuberculin test and sputum cultures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis are persistently negative. Direct fluorescent antibody is a reliable, rapid, and specific method of identifying organisms in specimens and tissue biopsies. While the agglutination test is very sensitive in detecting sporotrichosis, it does not differentiate active disease from inactive disease. The complement fixation test, when positive, may suggest the presence of systemic sporotrichosis. Potassium iodide may be used initially in the nonimmunocompromised host with limited, noncavitary pulmonary disease. Amphotericin B should be given to patients who fail to respond to potassium iodide. Initial amphotericin B therapy is indicated in immunocompromised patients, in patients with multifocal systemic sporotrichosis. and in those with cavitary pulmonary sporotrichosis. Resectional surgery with perioperative medical therapy is indicated in patients with persistent cavitary disease unresponsive to amphotericin B, or when cavitary disease is associated with bleeding.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Epidemic cutaneous sporotrichosis.

BACKGROUND: Sporotrichosis is a subcutaneous fungal infection. Lymphocutaneous and fixed sporotrichosis are the most common forms; cases of disseminated sporotrichosis are rare. There have been isolated reports and some epidemic familial outbreaks of the infection. METHODS: We studied four members of two families who contracted sporotrichosis after sleeping in an old and rust-stained camping tent. RESULTS: All cases presented with polymorphic lesions, three of them with multiple sites of inoculation. The camping tent was shown to be the source of infection. CONCLUSIONS: We report an epidemic of sporotrichosis in a family. In three cases disseminated cutaneous sporotrichosis occurred in nonimmunodeficient patients. The isolate of Sporothrix schenckii from a camping tent is extremely rare.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Epidemic cutaneous sporotrichosis: report of 16 cases in Queensland due to mouldy hay.

We report an epidemic of sporotrichosis in a south-east Queensland rural community. Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection due to the organism Sporothrix schenckii, typically presenting with cutaneous lesions. Sixteen cases of cutaneous sporotrichosis were seen over a 9 month period in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. All patients had had contact with a batch of mouldy hay presumed to be contaminated by Sporothrix schenckii. Nine of 16 patients were male; the youngest patient was aged 11 and the oldest was 67 years of age. Lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis was seen in 50% of patients; the rest demonstrated the fixed cutaneous form. No cases of disseminated cutaneous or systemic sporotrichosis were seen. One case demonstrated lymphangitis related to sporotrichosis. No apparent difference in the duration to diagnosis was demonstrated to exist between lymphocutaneous or fixed cutaneous types.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Metabolic activity of phagocytes in experimental sporotrichosis.

Phagocytosis plays an important role as a protective mechanism against infections, since polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and macrophages are the first cellular lines opposed to aggressive microorganisms. In patients with sporotrichosis a diminished capability of killing engulfed yeast by their PMN has been described, but the origin of this deficiency remains unknown. In this work, partial aspects of the oxidative metabolism of PMN leukocytes and peritoneal macrophages of mongolian gerbils experimentally infected with sporotrichosis were studied. For this purpose the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) test as described by Baehner and Nathan (1) and myeloperoxidase activity measured according to Kaplow's method were utilized. The PMN and macrophages of mongolian gerbils infected with sporotrichosis showed increased reduction of NBT when compared with the phagocytic cells of normal ones, as is usually observed in most infections. Myeloperoxidase activity was diminished in both PMN and macrophages, but this diminution was statistically significant only in PMN leukocytes. These results show that part of the oxidative mechanisms of phagocytic cells can be impaired in experimental sporotrichosis, and could be correlated with the diminished fungicidal activity of PMN leukocytes obtained from patients infected with sporotrichosis.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Epidemiology of sporotrichosis: a study of 304 cases in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Sporotrichosis is an infection caused by Sporothrix schenckii . It primarily involves the skin and lymphatic channels, but dissemination may occur. OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe clinical and epidemiologic features of cases of sporotrichosis observed in southern Brazil, and to review the literature. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of medical records over a 35-year period, from 1967 to 2002. RESULTS: In all, 304 cases of sporotrichosis confirmed by fungal culture, histopathologic examination, and/or remission of lesions with potassium iodide were reviewed. No statistical difference was found between the number of patients with fixed cutaneous sporotrichosis and those with the lymphangitic type. Multifocal and extracutaneous involvement was verified. The upper extremity was the most affected site. Unusual sites, such as the penis and pubic region, were also involved. CONCLUSION: Sporotrichosis is endemic in the study area. There is much to be learned about S schenckii . More studies and therapeutic options are still needed.

Adolescent↗