title: Successful treatment of chromoblastomycosis with topical heat therapy.
abstract: Four female patients with chromoblastomycosis were completely cured by prolonged topical application of tolerable heat from pocket warmers. The lesions involuted after 2, 3, and 6 months, respectively, in three patients who faithfully followed our strict treatment schedule, in contrast to the fourth patient who performed the topical heat therapy in an irregular manner at home over a 12-month period. In vitro studies showed that the mature colonies of Fonsecaea pedrosoi, isolated from three of the patients, withstood persistent heating at 42.5 degrees C for more than 1 month. This suggested that heat killing of the causative organisms is unlikely to have been the sole reason for the effectiveness of this simple therapeutic modality.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002862:Chromoblastomycosis / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013997:Time Factors