Fusarium sporodochia on cutaneous wounds.
A histopathological review of 24 cases of Fusarium-spp. culture-positive human specimens reveal sporodochia in eight cases, all of which were cutaneous injuries. These included three patients with burn wounds, three patients with ischemic necrosis, one patient who suffered trauma with extensive contamination of the injury with vegetation, and one patient with an ischemic skin graft placed for treatment of a non-healing traumatic leg injury sustained in a motor vehicle-pedestrian accident. Sporodochia consisted of swollen cells giving rise to parallel-oriented hyphae that extended upward above the surface, giving rise to a carpet of conidia on its uppermost aspect. Sporodochia have not been previously reported in humans. The presence of Fusarium sporodochia has implications with respect to infection control, as clinical care practices must be tailored to minimize potential aerolization of conidia, chlamydospores and rare budding cells, with resultant spread of the fungus during surgical manipulation, bandage change or cleaning of cutaneous wounds.
Smith
Michael
M
Division of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0704, USA. mismith@utmb.edu
McGinnis
Michael R
MR
D003881:Dermatomycoses / Q000382:microbiology*; D005670:Fusarium / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000382:microbiology*