title: Colletotrichum truncatum: an unusual pathogen causing mycotic keratitis and endophthalmitis.
abstract: In recent years, the well-known plant pathogens of the Colletotrichum genus were increasingly reported to cause ophthalmic infections in humans. Among 66 species in the Colletotrichum genus, only a few are known to be pathogenic for humans. We report here five cases of ophthalmic infections due to Colletotrichum truncatum, a species never reported earlier to cause human infection. The isolates were identified by morphological characteristics and the sequencing of internal spacer regions of ribosomal DNA. The progress of lesions in those patients was slow compared to that of lesions caused by Aspergillus or Fusarium infections. The surgical management included total penetrating keratoplasty in patients with keratitis and pars plana vitrectomy in endophthalmitis. Two patients were treated additionally with intravitreal amphotericin B deoxycholate, one patient with oral itraconazole, and another patient with oral and topical fluconazole therapy. The present series therefore highlights the expanding spectrum of agents causing eye infections and the inclusion of C. truncatum as a human pathogen.
authors.affiliation: Mycology Division, Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh 160012, India.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Shivaprakash
authors.forename: Suma B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Appannanavar
authors.forename: Manpreet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dhaliwal
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Sunita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Amod
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Arunaloke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chakrabarti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D020231:Colletotrichum / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D009877:Endophthalmitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007634:Keratitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009181:Mycoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014821:Vitrectomy; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer