Lymphocutaneous syndrome. A review of non-sporothrix causes

Nodular lymphangitis due to nocardiosis

Nodular lymphangitis is an infectious disease characterised by the development of inflammatory skin nodules that follow the direction of lymphatic drainage. We present a woman in her 70s with nodular lymphangitis that developed after mild trauma with a cactus. Surgical intervention was performed on a finger abscess with isolation of Nocardia brasiliensis in the microbiological samples. Initial antibiotherapy was modified, treating with cotrimoxazole, firstly intravenous and finally oral, therapy during 3 months with a complete resolution of the infection.

Tularemia Hand Infection From a Cat Bite—A Case Report

Tularemia is an uncommon infection caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. The nonspecific presentation and infrequency with which it is encountered make it a diagnostic challenge. A rare and scarcely reported mode of tularemia inoculation is a cat bite to the hand. We report a cat bite hand infection with tularemia in a 66-year-old woman. She underwent treatment for presumed polymicrobial cellulitis. Over the next 5 days, the symptoms progressed to fever, malaise, and fluctuant lymphadenitis with nodules along draining lymphatics. Cultures grew F tularensis and antibiotics were switched to doxycycline, which resolved the infection. The patient remained symptom-free after the doxycycline was discontinued. The purpose of this case study is to alert treating providers to consider tularemia infection when a hand infection persists, particularly in the context of an animal bite.

First Case of Nocardia pseudobrasiliensis Causing Primary Cutaneous Nocardiosis in an Immunocompetent Patient

Nocardia brasiliensis is the most common cause of cutaneous nocardiosis. Nocardia pseudobrasiliensis is an emerging species responsible for invasive and disseminated disease in immunocompromised patients. We describe a case of a 67-year-old immunocompetent patient without significant past medical history diagnosed with primary cutaneous nocardiosis with N pseudobrasiliensis as the causative organism. In our opinion, we report the first case of primary cutaneous nocardiosis in an immunocompetent patient with N pseudobrasiliensis being the causative agent.

Meningeal and multiorgan disseminated sporotrichosis: A case report and autopsy study

This case report presents a 36-year old man with a disseminated sporotrichosis who presented with seizures and crusted lesions all over the body. Imaging studies revealed acute ischemic brain event with haemorrhagic transformation in right frontal lobe. Skin biopsy showed Sporothrix schenckii. He was treated with standard amphotericin B. Despite therapy, he developed consciousness loss, multiorgan-failure and eventually expired. Necropsy findings showed renal, hepatic, splenic, prostate, testicles and meningeal/cerebral involvement.

Updates on Nocardia Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Solid Organ Transplantation

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Due to their immunocompromised status, solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at risk for Nocardia infections. These infections often necessitate early invasive diagnostics alongside prolonged, often combination antimicrobial therapy. This review summarizes the importance of this pathogen in skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in SOT recipients inclusive of recently reported cases in the literature and an update on the epidemiology, diagnostics, and management.

RECENT FINDINGS

Six studies with 13 isolated SSTIs due to Nocardia have been published in the last 5 years in SOT recipients. The most common underlying type of transplant was kidney and time from transplantation to infection varied from 6 months to 16 years. Misdiagnosis was frequent. Available identified species included N. brasiliensis (2), N. farcinica (2), N. flavorosea (1), N. abscessus (1), N. anaemiae (1), N. asteroides (1), N. nova (1), and N. vinacea (1). Treatment choice and duration varied widely, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was utilized most often with no documented infection relapse. Nocardia SSTIs can occur both in isolation and as a component of a disseminated infection. Overall, isolated Nocardia SSTIs are uncommon in SOT recipients and are often initially misdiagnosed. They present multiple challenges to the clinician including evaluation for potential co-pathogens and/or non-infectious processes and ruling out the presence of disseminated infection. While trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole remains the agent of choice for management of most isolated SSTIs, therapy must be tailored to the individual patient based on species-specific susceptibility patterns and formal susceptibility testing, site(s) of infection, and patient tolerability.

Cutaneous Complications in Recipients of Lung Transplants: A Pictorial Review

Lung transplant is now an established modality for a broad spectrum of end-stage pulmonary diseases. According to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Registry, more than 50,000 lung transplants have been performed worldwide, with nearly 11,000 recipients of lung transplants alive in the United States. With the increasing use of lung transplant, pulmonologists must be cognizant of the common as well as the unique posttransplant dermatologic complications. Immunosuppression, infections, and a variety of medications and environmental exposures can contribute to these complications. This review aims to provide representative pictures and describe the pathogenesis, epidemiologic characteristics, and clinical manifestations of dermatologic complications encountered among recipients of lung transplants.

Sporotrichoid Skin Infection Caused by Nocardia brasiliensis in a Kidney Transplant Patient

Prompt and accurate diagnosis of Nocardia skin infections is important in immunocompromised hosts, especially transplant patients. The sporotrichoid form, which is otherwise known as the lymphocutaneous form of Nocardia skin involvement, can mimic other conditions, including those caused by fungi, mycobacteria, spirochetes, parasites and other bacteria. Delayed or inaccurate diagnosis and treatment of Nocardia skin infections in transplant patients could lead to dissemination of disease and other poor outcomes. Nocardia brasiliensis is a rare cause of lymphocutaneous nocardiosis in solid organ transplant patients with only two other cases reported to our knowledge. This case describes a middle-aged man, who presented 16 years post kidney transplant. He developed a sporotrichoid lesion on his upper extremity one week after gardening. Ultrasound showed a 35-cm abscess tract on his forearm, which was subsequently drained. Nocardia brasiliensis was isolated from pus culture and he was treated successfully with amoxicillin/clavulanate for 6 months. A review of the relevant literature is included.

Nodular Lymphangitis (Sporotrichoid Lymphocutaneous Infections). Clues to Differential Diagnosis

Nodular lymphangitis, also known as sporotrichoid lymphocutaneous infections, is characterized by suppurative inflammatory nodules along the lymphatic vessels. This manifestation is classic of sporotrichosis, however, other infections such as nocardiosis, atypical mycobacteriosis, leishmaniasis, among others, can also express this clinical pattern. Sporotrichosis, which often occurs in gardeners, remains the most recognized cause of nodular lymphangitis. The histopathological studies, as well as the culture are diagnostic standards of lesions that do not respond to empirical treatment. In this article, we will review the main causes of nodular lymphangitis or lymphocutaneous sporotrichoid infections.

Nocardia mikamiia Novel Species Causing Disseminated Nocardiosis: A Literature Review of Disseminated Nocardiosis

Nocardiais an uncommon Gram-positive organism. It typically appears as delicate filamentous Gram-positive branching rods. In the United States it was estimated to be approximately 500 to 1000 new cases per year. The organism causes disease in immunocompromised individuals with pulmonary infection representing the most common site of infection.Nocardia mikamiihas been a recently isolated pathogen and not many cases of disseminated infection with this organism has been reported in the literature; we present a case of disseminated nocardiosis (mikamii sp.) in an immunocompromised patient. We also present a literature review on nocardiosis.

Subcutaneous fungal infections

Subcutaneous mycoses are common in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. These infections have multiple features in common, including similar epidemiology, mode of transmission, indolent chronic presentation with low potential for dissemination in immunocompetent hosts, and pyogranulomatous lesions on histopathology. Herein, we provide up-to-date epidemiologic, clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic data for three important subcutaneous mycoses: chromoblastomycosis, mycetoma, and sporotrichosis.

Sporotrichosis of the upper extremity

This article presents a case of a chronic, nonhealing thumb wound in a patient with diabetes mellitus. A 67-year-old right-hand-dominant man presented with progressive erythema and swelling of the right thumb several months after sustaining a paper cut along the eponychium. The patient had already completed an extensive laboratory evaluation, including bacterial and fungal cultures, as well as a punch biopsy that was inconclusive. In addition, the patient underwent several rounds of empiric antibiotic therapy without resolution of his symptoms. Despite these measures, the patient's thumb wound persisted and new lesions began to appear proximally along the forearm. Excisional biopsy of the lesions was ultimately required to obtain additional tissue for a pathologic analysis. Culture of the specimen on Saboraud dextrose agar revealed a definitive diagnosis of infection with Sporothrix schenkii. A subsequent course of oral antifungal therapy with itraconazole was well tolerated and resulted in disease regression. Early diagnosis of sporotrichosis is essential to prevent complications including septic arthritis, systemic infection, and death. This case illustrates the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion for atypical infectious agents in patients with poor immune function.

Sporotrichoid aspergillosis in an immunocompromised child: a case report and review of the literature

Primary cutaneous aspergillosis is an uncommon, opportunistic infection. Atypical presentations have recently emerged with the expanding range of primary and acquired diseases that cause immunosuppression. Primary cutaneous aspergillosis may invade the deep lymphatic structures and present in a sporotrichoid pattern. In pediatric patients with an otherwise normal previous medical history, primary cutaneous aspergillosis should raise the suspicion of an immunodeficiency and prompt referral to immunology and infectious disease specialists should be made. Early diagnosis and management of primary cutaneous aspergillosis prevents invasive aspergillosis, minimizing morbidity and mortality in the immunocompromised patients.

Clinical practice guidelines for the management of sporotrichosis: 2007 update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America

Guidelines for the management of patients with sporotrichosis were prepared by an Expert Panel of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and replace the guidelines published in 2000. The guidelines are intended for use by internists, pediatricians, family practitioners, and dermatologists. They include evidence-based recommendations for the management of patients with lymphocutaneous, cutaneous, pulmonary, osteoarticular, meningeal, and disseminated sporotrichosis. Recommendations are also provided for the treatment of sporotrichosis in pregnant women and in children.

A rose by any other name

A 40-year-old man visited Haiti in the winter. His visit was uneventful, and he went swimming in the ocean. A week after his return he developed a small "pimple" on his right fifth finger. This condition progressed for several weeks, with new lesions developing over the extensor surface of his forearm and in the antecubital fossa. He had tender axillary adenopathy. The patient started a new job when he returned from Haiti, working 4 days per week in a greenhouse. He denied any fever, chills, or night sweats. He was in good health without any underlying chronic health problems. Physical examination revealed a small eschar over the distal phalanx of the patient's right fifth finger (Figure 1). There were 2 erythematous nodules over the extensor surface of his right forearm (Figure 2) as well as over the antecubital fossa (Figure 3). A punch biopsy was performed and results showed suppurative granulomatous dermatitis. Sporothrix schenckii was grown from the specimen.

Esporotricosis en Irán

This report describes a 23 year-old male florist gardener diagnosed with subcutaneous sporotrichosis caused by the dimorphic pathogenic soil fungus Sporothrix schenckii. The patient had several small skin lesions over the left upper arm with ascendant chains of enlarged lymph nodes.Sporothrix schenckii was detected from clinical samples by direct microscopy and culture and its ability to switch from mould to yeast form at 37 degrees C. The patient was successfully treated with long-term potassium iodide and advised to wear gloves and long sleeves when handling any kind of plant material.

Conservative management of local Mycobacterium chelonae infection after combined liposuction and lipofilling

A case of Mycobacterium chelonae infection in the buttock after combined liposuction and lipoinjection is presented. The real possibility of contamination from operating room equipment was the potential etiologic factor of this infection. The clinical presentation of the disease was typical. The difficulty confirming the diagnosis was solved by specific culturing techniques. Successful treatment with limited debridement and irrigation combined with prolonged specific antibiotic therapy effected a long-term cure.

What is That Nodule?

The evaluation of patients with subcutaneous nodules remains a diagnostic challenge. The presence of nodules can be a clue to an underlying systemic disease; however, the varied presentations of nodules and numerous disease associations make the assessment of patients with nodules far from simple. With further investigation into the appearance, location, and symptoms associated with nodules, the clinical significance of these lesions can become clearer and aid in logical diagnostic evaluation. We have reviewed the causes of nodules with emphasis on those associated with rheumatic disease and provide guidelines for nodule evaluation to better characterize disease association and lead to directed diagnostic assessment.

Endemic Mycoses: Blastomycosis, Histoplasmosis, and Sporotrichosis

The endemic mycoses are diverse group of fungi that share several characteristics. They are able to cause disease in healthy hosts, they each occupy a specific ecologic niche in the environment, and they exhibit temperature dimorphism, existing as molds in the environment at temperature of 25 degrees C to 30 degrees C, and as yeasts, or spherules in the case of coccidioidomycosis, at body temperatures. This article discusses histoplasmosis and blastomycosis. Sporotrichosis, which differs in that it is usually a localized lymphocutaneous infection, is included because it shares the characteristics of endemic mycoses.

Clinical patterns of cutaneous nontuberculous mycobacterial infections

BACKGROUND

Cutaneous nontuberculous mycobacterial infections result from external inoculation, spread of a deeper infection, or haematogenous spread of a disseminated infection. There are two species-specific infections (fish-tank or swimming-pool granuloma, due to Mycobacterium marinum, and Buruli ulcer, caused by M. ulcerans). Most infections, however, produce a nonspecific clinical picture.

OBJECTIVES

To define clinical patterns of cutaneous disease in nontuberculous mycobacterial infections.

METHODS

Fifty-one patients with cutaneous nontuberculous mycobacterial infections were reviewed. Clinical and histopathological features of normal hosts and immunosuppressed patients were compared. Two subgroups of immunosuppressed patients were distinguished: patients with cutaneous infection and patients with a disseminated infection and cutaneous involvement.

RESULTS

In immunosuppressed patients the number of lesions was significantly higher. Abscesses and ulceration were also more frequently observed. Different species were found in normal hosts and immunosuppressed patients. Several clinical patterns of cutaneous infection were defined: lymphocutaneous or sporotrichoid lesions; nonlymphocutaneous lesions at the site of trauma; folliculitis and furunculosis involving the lower extremities; disseminated lesions on the extremities in immunosuppressed patients. Two patterns were observed in patients with a disseminated infection: localized cutaneous lesions and disseminated cutaneous and mucosal lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

Cutaneous manifestations of nontuberculous mycobacterial infections may be classified according to criteria such as cutaneous lesions and immune status.

Primary lymphocutaneous nocardiosis in an immunocompetent patient

Background

Nocardia brasiliensis is a rare human pathogen usually associated with localized cutaneous infections.

Case Presentation

We report a case of primary lymphocutaneous Nocardia brasiliensis infection developed after a bone fracture of the left hand of an otherwise healthy 32-year-old man. Treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole given for a total of three months combined with surgical debridement resulted in complete resolution of the infection.

Conclusion

Nocardiosis should be part of the differential diagnosis in patients with sporotrichoid infection, particularly those with a history of outdoor injury. Culture of the affected tissue and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the isolate should be performed for diagnosis and treatment.

Tularemia and Q fever

The zoonotic infections caused by Francisella tularensis and Coxiella burnetii, tularemia and Q fever, respectively, are two less commonly encountered clinical illnesses that are becoming increasingly recognized as epidemiologically important human diseases. The prevalence of tularemia and Q fever can be positively impacted by increased awareness of the clinical entities that arise from infection by these arthropod-borne organisms. Improved recognition of these clinical syndromes will lead to greater diagnostic accuracy in recognizing these diseases in patients. Ultimately, more stringent measures to prevent infection may be required, through raising public awareness, since current therapeutic regimens for these two diseases are limited, and knowledge of the pathogenesis of these two organisms are still in developing stages.

Sporotrichoid Lymphangitis Due to Group AStreptococcus

We describe what is, to our knowledge, the first case of sporotrichoid lymphangitis caused solely by group A Streptococcus in an otherwise healthy patient. Infection with pyogenic pathogens, such as streptococci and staphylococci, as well as with the most common causes of sporotrichoid lymphangitis (i.e., Sporothrix schenkii, Nocardia brasiliensis, Mycobacterium marinum, and Leishmania species) should be considered in differential diagnosis for some patients.