Mycetoma caused by Microascus gracilis: a novel agent of human eumycetoma in Sudan.

Najwa A Mhmoud, Emmanuel Edwar Siddig, Bertrand Nyuykonge, Sahar Mubarak Bakhiet, Wendy W J van de Sande, Ahmed Hassan Fahal

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2021 Apr 14

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Species of the genus Microascus are uncommon agents of human diseases despite their ubiquitous presence in the environment. In this communication, the first case of white grain eumycetoma caused by the fungus Microascus gracilis is reported. The patient was initially misdiagnosed as having actinomycetoma based on the grains morphological and cytological features and was treated with antimicrobial therapy with no clinical improvement. She underwent wide local surgical excision to improve the response to medical treatment and further grain cultural, molecular and taxonomy techniques were conducted and the diagnosis of mycetoma due to M. gracilis was established. The antifungal susceptibilities of this isolate to nine drugs were tested in vitro and they showed poor activity. Combination therapy with surgery and itraconazole led to complete recovery. A medical literature search revealed no previous report on M. gracilis as a causative agent of eumycetoma and hence we are reporting this new causative agent of human eumycetoma. Also, the difficulty in the management of this patient emphasizes the need for accurate and appropriate diagnostic tests for the identification of mycetoma-causative organisms and thus proper management. © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Citation

Najwa A Mhmoud, Emmanuel Edwar Siddig, Bertrand Nyuykonge, Sahar Mubarak Bakhiet, Wendy W J van de Sande, Ahmed Hassan Fahal. Mycetoma caused by Microascus gracilis: a novel agent of human eumycetoma in Sudan. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2021 Apr 14;115(4):426-430