title: Cutaneous protothecosis in patient with diabetes mellitus and review of published case reports.
abstract: Protothecosis is an opportunistic infection caused by Prototheca, usually called as saprophytes, and is frequently found in natural and living surroundings with low virulence, but may cause chronic infection in immunocompromised individuals. We report a case of cutaneous protothecosis with zopfii var. portoricensis infection in a 66-year-old diabetic woman following hand surgery on middle right finger. Mycology study showed that smooth, creamy white, yeast-like colonies grown after necrotic tissue was cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar at both 37 and 25°C. The organism was then identified as Prototheca zopfii var. portoricensis by molecular identification and also found from histopathology of the lesion. The lesion got improved with intravenous amphotericin B and itraconazole.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. zhangqq8@163.com
authors.forename: Qiang-Qiang
authors.initials: QQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yun-Ru
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jun-hao
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017964:Itraconazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology*; D011525:Prototheca / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D017964:Itraconazole; D000666:Amphotericin B