Laboratory alert: clues to the identification of dermatophytes as the etiologic agents of subcutaneous abscesses.
Trichophyton mentagrophytes was isolated on blood agar and in thioglycollate broth after prolonged incubations of four and seven days, respectively, of a routine bacterial culture taken from a subcutaneous abscess on the inner thigh of a 24 year old woman. The lesions had been present on both thighs for six months before correct diagnosis and treatment. Attention is called to the importance of clinical history to the alert microbiologist in determining the correct diagnosis of such lesions when the original bacterial culture reveals no growth after 48 hours.
D000038:Abscess / Q000382:microbiology*; D000328:Adult; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D013848:Thigh; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*