title: Exophiala oligosperma involved in a refractory chronic rhinosinusitis.
abstract: Fungal rhinosinusitis refers to a wide variety of conditions caused by fungal infections of the paranasal sinuses. Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis and sinus fungus balls are mostly noted in healthy individuals. Aspergillus species are supposed to be the most common etiologic agents of the disorder, but melanized fungi also occur, and these potentially are able to lead to fatal dissemination into brain parenchyma. We report on a case of fungus ball in a 20-year-old female with refractory chronic rhinosinusitis (RCRS) and bronchial asthma due to the black yeast Exophiala oligosperma which was confirmed by mycological and molecular (sequences of ITS rDNA) investigations. Exophiala oligosperma has previously not been reported to cause fungus balls or invasive fungal rhinosinusitis. Patient underwent functional endoscopic sinusitis surgery and the hypertrophic mucosa was removed completely. Without antifungal therapy, successful cure was achieved after spray therapy with corticosteroids for 1 month, without any relapse after a 6 month-follow up.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Mycology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Badali
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Hedayati
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bahoosh
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kasir
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Motahari
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Meis
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: De Hoog
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000336:Aerosols; D001249:Asthma / Q000382:microbiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004724:Endoscopy; D005093:Exophiala / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013517:Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures; D010256:Paranasal Sinuses / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000336:Aerosols