Alternaria chartarum sclerokeratouveitis: A new fungus cause

Abstract

We report a case of Alternaria chartarum sclerokeratouveitis with an unfavorable response to treatment. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous reports of this fungus invading the sclera. A 68-year-old diabetic farmer male patient presented with a 3-week history of pain and redness and a decrease in visual acuity occurring 5 days before admittance in the right eye. Examination revealed severe mixed hyperemia and a scleral calcified plaque with a surrounding area of ischemia and lysis. The cornea showed diffuse infiltrates, stromal edema, and hypopyon. Initial scrapings were negative, and empiric antibiotics were started. After a fungus was reported, topical and systemic antifungals were initiated, but there was no clinical response. The eye was enucleated. A slow-growing fungus A. chartarum, resistant to voriconazole, was isolated. Fungal etiology must be kept in mind when dealing with infectious scleritis. Despite treatment, the outcome of this case was unfavorable due to the slow-growing nature of the fungus and this strain's resistance to voriconazole.

Keywords

• alternaria chartarum
• fungus
• sclerokeratouveitis