Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case report

BackgroundWe report a rare case of fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora, a filamentous fungus that is widely distributed in soil and graminaceous plants.Case presentationA 40-year-old Mongoloid male patient came to our outpatient clinic with painful swelling of the left eye and redness, after being...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yao Lu, Yijun Mo, Yuesong Weng, Xiaohui Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1496010/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850134427622965248
author Yao Lu
Yijun Mo
Yuesong Weng
Xiaohui Li
author_facet Yao Lu
Yijun Mo
Yuesong Weng
Xiaohui Li
author_sort Yao Lu
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundWe report a rare case of fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora, a filamentous fungus that is widely distributed in soil and graminaceous plants.Case presentationA 40-year-old Mongoloid male patient came to our outpatient clinic with painful swelling of the left eye and redness, after being cut by a tree branch 1 week prior. After examination, the patient was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer of the left eye, and was given levofloxacin eye drops and levofloxacin ophthalmic gel. However, the patient did not respond to the treatment. After admission to the hospital, fungal mycelium was found in the corneal smear. To further identify the pathogen, a corneal scraping culture was used to extract fungal DNA and PCR amplification was performed using ITS universal primers, which was later sequenced and identified as Neurospora. We used fluconazole injections (0.2 g/100 mL) as eye drops to treat the patient once every hour, and itraconazole (200 mg) was administered orally once a day. After a few days, the patient’s condition improved.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora in China. In this case, conventional topical and systemic treatment resulted in a favorable outcome. In patients with suspected fungal keratitis, medical treatment should be started urgently, and the treatment plan should be adjusted according to the subsequent experimental results and the patient’s condition.
format Article
id doaj-art-9ebab7375fde44fabab448558bc998a5
institution OA Journals
issn 2296-858X
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Medicine
spelling doaj-art-9ebab7375fde44fabab448558bc998a52025-08-20T02:31:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2024-12-011110.3389/fmed.2024.14960101496010Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case reportYao Lu0Yijun Mo1Yuesong Weng2Xiaohui Li3Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo, ChinaDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Peoples' Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Ningbo Yinzhou No.2 Hospital, Ningbo Urology and Nephrology Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, ChinaBackgroundWe report a rare case of fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora, a filamentous fungus that is widely distributed in soil and graminaceous plants.Case presentationA 40-year-old Mongoloid male patient came to our outpatient clinic with painful swelling of the left eye and redness, after being cut by a tree branch 1 week prior. After examination, the patient was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer of the left eye, and was given levofloxacin eye drops and levofloxacin ophthalmic gel. However, the patient did not respond to the treatment. After admission to the hospital, fungal mycelium was found in the corneal smear. To further identify the pathogen, a corneal scraping culture was used to extract fungal DNA and PCR amplification was performed using ITS universal primers, which was later sequenced and identified as Neurospora. We used fluconazole injections (0.2 g/100 mL) as eye drops to treat the patient once every hour, and itraconazole (200 mg) was administered orally once a day. After a few days, the patient’s condition improved.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora in China. In this case, conventional topical and systemic treatment resulted in a favorable outcome. In patients with suspected fungal keratitis, medical treatment should be started urgently, and the treatment plan should be adjusted according to the subsequent experimental results and the patient’s condition.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1496010/fullNeurosporafungal keratitiskeratitiscase reportcorneal
spellingShingle Yao Lu
Yijun Mo
Yuesong Weng
Xiaohui Li
Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case report
Frontiers in Medicine
Neurospora
fungal keratitis
keratitis
case report
corneal
title Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case report
title_full Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case report
title_fullStr Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case report
title_full_unstemmed Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case report
title_short Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case report
title_sort fungal keratitis caused by neurospora a case report
topic Neurospora
fungal keratitis
keratitis
case report
corneal
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1496010/full
work_keys_str_mv AT yaolu fungalkeratitiscausedbyneurosporaacasereport
AT yijunmo fungalkeratitiscausedbyneurosporaacasereport
AT yuesongweng fungalkeratitiscausedbyneurosporaacasereport
AT xiaohuili fungalkeratitiscausedbyneurosporaacasereport