Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis. Morphologic findings in a cluster of six cases.
We describe the histopathologic features of 6 cases of gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis examined at 4 Phoenix, AZ, area hospitals during the last 4 years. Resected stomach and intestinal specimens were characterized by marked mural thickening with fibrosis, prominent tissue eosinophil infiltration and palisading granulomatous inflammation around pale fungal hyphae. In 2 cases, there was colonic perforation. Basidiobolus ranarum hyphae (associated with spore-like spherules in 4 cases) were identified within tissue sections; the irregularly branched, thin-walled, occasionally septated hyphae were typically surrounded by a thick eosinophilic cuff (Splendore-Hoeppli phenomenon). Although the histologic features of B ranarum are well described in the skin and subcutaneous tissue, gastrointestinal involvement has presented considerable diagnostic difficulty. Before the occurrence of this cluster of cases, intra-abdominal B ranarum infection has been reported only rarely.
Yousef
O M
OM
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
Smilack
J D
JD
Kerr
D M
DM
Ramsey
R
R
Rosati
L
L
Colby
T V
TV
D000328:Adult; D012809:Colon, Sigmoid / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D020091:Entomophthorales / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013029:Space-Time Clustering; D020096:Zygomycosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*