From Child to Old Man: A Slowly Evolving Case of Chromoblastomycosis Caused by <i>Cladosporium cladosporioides</i>

Abstract

Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic granulomatous mycosis of the skin and subcutaneous tissue caused by traumatic inoculation with dematiaceous fungi. This disease primarily affects agricultural workers, who are mostly men. We present a case of chromoblastomycosis in a 63-year-old male farmer patient with dermatosis over 50 years of evolution, with warty, erythematous, and scaly plaques that predominate on the left hemithorax. Direct examination with potassium hydroxide (KOH) revealed numerous fumagoid cells. Amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF-1a) gene revealed that chromoblastomycosis was caused by Cladosporium cladosporioides. The chromoblastomycosis was treated with itraconazole and fluconazole without any improvement, and amphotericin B was administered with partial improvement.

Keywords

• chromoblastomycosis
• <i>Cladosporium cladosporioides</i>
• ITS1-2 rRNA region
• <i>TEF-1a</i> gene