Fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis

A 42-year-old woman was referred to an emergency department. She had an unresponsive corneal ulcer that was initially diagnosed as Herpes simplex virus keratitis. Later, the microbiological studies revealed fungal keratitis. Although the patient was given topical antifungal medication, the clinical...

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Main Authors: Mehrnaz Atighehchian, Alireza Latifi, Zohreh Nozarian, Fahimeh Asadi Amoli, Mehran Zarei-Ghanavati
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Medical Mycology Case Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211753924000617
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author Mehrnaz Atighehchian
Alireza Latifi
Zohreh Nozarian
Fahimeh Asadi Amoli
Mehran Zarei-Ghanavati
author_facet Mehrnaz Atighehchian
Alireza Latifi
Zohreh Nozarian
Fahimeh Asadi Amoli
Mehran Zarei-Ghanavati
author_sort Mehrnaz Atighehchian
collection DOAJ
description A 42-year-old woman was referred to an emergency department. She had an unresponsive corneal ulcer that was initially diagnosed as Herpes simplex virus keratitis. Later, the microbiological studies revealed fungal keratitis. Although the patient was given topical antifungal medication, the clinical presentation did not support improvement. Despite using antifungal medication, the infiltration continued to progress, and the patient underwent therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (T-PKP). Corneal tissue was collected and sent for histopathologic and molecular examination. The results revealed the presence of both Acanthamoeba T4 subgroup and Fusarium sp. This case emphasizes the importance of considering Acanthamoeba infection in progressive and non-responsive infectious keratitis, especially fungal specimens. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an appropriate laboratory molecular diagnostic test for accurate diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis.
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issn 2211-7539
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publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Medical Mycology Case Reports
spelling doaj-art-1d70860ecf6a42309bd1d7ade031d7fb2025-08-20T02:52:20ZengElsevierMedical Mycology Case Reports2211-75392025-03-014710068710.1016/j.mmcr.2024.100687Fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitisMehrnaz Atighehchian0Alireza Latifi1Zohreh Nozarian2Fahimeh Asadi Amoli3Mehran Zarei-Ghanavati4Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranDepartment of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranPathology Department, Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranPathology Department, Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IranFarabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Corresponding author.A 42-year-old woman was referred to an emergency department. She had an unresponsive corneal ulcer that was initially diagnosed as Herpes simplex virus keratitis. Later, the microbiological studies revealed fungal keratitis. Although the patient was given topical antifungal medication, the clinical presentation did not support improvement. Despite using antifungal medication, the infiltration continued to progress, and the patient underwent therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty (T-PKP). Corneal tissue was collected and sent for histopathologic and molecular examination. The results revealed the presence of both Acanthamoeba T4 subgroup and Fusarium sp. This case emphasizes the importance of considering Acanthamoeba infection in progressive and non-responsive infectious keratitis, especially fungal specimens. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an appropriate laboratory molecular diagnostic test for accurate diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211753924000617Fungal keratitisAcanthamoebaInfiltration
spellingShingle Mehrnaz Atighehchian
Alireza Latifi
Zohreh Nozarian
Fahimeh Asadi Amoli
Mehran Zarei-Ghanavati
Fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis
Medical Mycology Case Reports
Fungal keratitis
Acanthamoeba
Infiltration
title Fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis
title_full Fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis
title_fullStr Fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis
title_full_unstemmed Fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis
title_short Fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis
title_sort fungal keratitis complicating the diagnosis of acanthamoeba keratitis
topic Fungal keratitis
Acanthamoeba
Infiltration
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211753924000617
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