Trichosporon inkin and Trichosporon mucoides as unusual causes of white piedra of scalp hair.

White piedra of scalp hair is considered a rare entity. We report three cases of this disorder all of whom presented with nodules on the hair. Potassium hydroxide preparations of the hair revealed clustered arthrospores and mature, easily detachable nodules.

Paediatric oropharyngeal and cutaneous candidiasis with special reference to Candida dubliniensis.

Mucocutaneous and cutaneous candidiasis, though common in children, is often under-reported. The prevalence of Candida dubliniensis in causing these infections in this age group is also largely unknown. A prospective epidemiological cross-sectional study for candidiasis was performed in paediatric patients clinically suspected of candidiasis with oropharyngeal lesions (75 patients), cutaneous lesions (18 patients) and lesions at both sites (2 patients).

A rare case of Histoplasma fungemia in an AIDS patient.

Disseminated cases of histoplasmosis in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are rarely reported from India. Most of these cases report isolation of this fungus from the bone marrow, lymph node aspirate, spleenic aspirate, and biopsies. We report isolation of Histoplasma capsulatum from the blood of an AIDS patient.

Salmonella enteritidis meningitis - a case report.

A male infant admitted with pyogenic meningitis with protein energy malnutrition developed fatal infection due to Salmonella enteritidis. The same organism was isolated from CSF and blood cultures.

Use of a new medium - tobacco agar, for pigment production of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Cryptococcus neoformans produces brown colonies on Niger seed (Guizotia abyssinica) agar. Media containing caffeic acid, L-dopa and other diphenolic compounds, have been used for the same purpose. The present report describes a new medium containing tobacco which supports growth of C.

Epidural mass due to aspergillus flavus causing spinal cord compression--a case report and brief update.

Aspergillus infection of the central nervous system (CNS) is an uncommon disease. Most of the reported cases are of sinocranial spread and cases with contiguous spread to spinal cord from lung and other organs are uncommon. A case of pulmonary aspergillosis with extension to thoracic vertebrae forming a paraspinal mass resulting in neurological deficit due to Aspergillus flavus, is reported.

Candida tropicalis meningitis in a young infant.

Candida tropicalis is a rare species of Candida causing meningitis. The authors report a young infant who developed Candida tropicalis meningitis following a prolonged stay in a neonatal intensive care unit for respiratory distress and intra-cranial hemorrhage. The child was successfully treated with recommended doses of Amphotericin B and 5-flucytosine for eight weeks.

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis in a pregnant woman with diabetic ketoacidosis.

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis (RCM) is a rare but often fatal condition characterized by aggressive necrotizing infection originating from nose and spreading to paranasal sinuses, orbit and central nervous system. Although Fungi and spores of mucorales show minimal intrinsic pathogenicity towards normal persons, they can initiate fulminant infections in patients with underlying debilitating conditions. A case of RCM in a pregnant woman with diabetic keto-acidosis successfully treated by supportive care, amphotericin B and surgery is reported.

Fronto-ethmoidal mucormycosis - a case report.

A fifty year-old female patient suffering from Mucormycosis of fronto-ethmoidal region wot successfully treated by surgical debridement and oral antifungal therapy.

Evaluation of clinical efficacy and safety of once daily topical administration of 1% oxiconazole cream and lotion in dermatophytosis : an open label, non comparative multicentre study.

The clinical efficacy and safety of once daily topical administration of 1% oxiconazole cream and lotion was assessed in an open label, non comparative trial in tinea cruris, tinea corporis and tinea pedis patients. In treated patients, severity scores of erythema, pruritus, scaling, vesicles, papules and burning showed a progressive fall over a period of 4 weeks at all the study centres. With lotion, mean percentage improvement of symptoms varied from 35% (week 1) to 87.

Phaeohyphomycotic ulcer caused by Phialophora verrucosa: successful treatment with itraconazole.

We report the first well documented case of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycotic infection caused by Phialophora verrucosa in India. Examination of the biopsied tissue from an ulcerating lesion on the shin of the left leg of a 45-year-old woman from Bombay, India, showed numerous dematiaceous, septate, branching hyphal elements and thick-walled cells characteristic of phaeohyphomycosis. Cultures of the scrapings from the lesion and of the biopsied tissue yielded a pigmented fungus that was identified as P.

Corneal ulcer caused by Nocardia asteroides in a patient with leprosy.

Nocardia asteroides is a rare cause of keratitis usually associated with trauma. We report a case of corneal ulceration caused by N. asteroides in a patient with leprosy.

Prevalence of nocardiosis and use of Modified Thayer Martin medium.

5 cases of pulmonary and 1 case of cerebral nocardiosis in the form of abscess caused by Nocardia asteroides were detected in a study of 498 clinical specimens from 428 patients of suspected tuberculosis and mycoses, giving an overall prevalence of 1.4 percent. Modified Thayer Martin Medium was useful for recovery of two isolates of N.

Microbiological study of mycetoma patients from Bombay with special reference to actinomyces immunofluorescence.

17 of the 21 clinically diagnosed mycetoma and actinomycosis cases studied yielded positive cultures. Foot, leg, inguinal region, chest wall, jaw and scalp were the affected sites. 15 of the patients were from Bombay, 13 of them had infection due to Nocardia species and 2 had Actinomyces israelii infection.

Actinomyces species associated with intrauterine contraceptive devices and pelvic inflammatory disease.

Swabs from 112 removed intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUCD), endocervical swabs from these women and from 65 women with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) were studied for actinomyces, using direct fluorescent antibody test and culture. Endocervical swabs from 50 control subjects were also studied. Actinomyces species could be detected in 23 (20.

A comparison of three media for isolation of Nocardia species from clinical specimens.

The study was carried out to compare the efficacy of three media namely Modified Thayer Martin medium, McClung's carbon free broth with paraffin bait and paraffin agar in isolating Nocardia species from clinical specimens. Two hundred and seventy six clinical specimens from 245 cases were studied which included cases of bronchopulmonary and systemic infections and cases of mycetoma. Paraffin agar was found to be an inexpensive and selective medium for isolation of Nocardia species when compared with Modified Thayer Martin medium and paraffin bait techniques.