Open AccessVisceral basidiobolomycosis: An overlooked infection in immunocompetent children
Author(s) -
Parkash Mandhan,
Kamal Hassan,
Sandra Moustafa Samaan,
Mansour Ali
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
african journal of paediatric surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.163
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 0189-6725
pISSN - 0974-5998
DOI - 10.4103/0189-6725.170218
Subject(s) - medicine , eosinophilic , presentation (obstetrics) , histopathology , dermatology , rare disease , pathology , antifungal , biopsy , disease , surgery
Visceral basidiobolomycosis is an unusual fungal infection of viscera caused by saprophyte Basidiobolus ranarum. It is very rare in healthy children and poses a diagnostic challenge due to the non-specific clinical presentation and the absence of predisposing factors. We report a case of gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis in a 4-year-old healthy girl who presented with a short history of abdominal pain, bleeding per rectum, fever, and weight loss. The diagnosis was based on high eosinophilic count, classical histopathology findings of fungal hyphae (the Splendore-Hoeppli phenomenon), and positive fungal culture from a tissue biopsy. Fungal infection was successfully eradicated with a combined approach of surgical resection of the infected tissue and a well-monitored course of antifungal therapy. The atypical clinical presentation, diagnostic techniques, and the role of surgery in the management of a rare and lethal fungal disease in an immunocompetent child are discussed.