Letter: Imported paracoccidioidomycosis in Japan

Dermatol Online J. 2011 Dec 15;17(12):11.

Abstract

A 39-year-old man from Argentina, who had come to Japan 13 years previously, had been suffering from oral pain for several months. He was biopsied twice and treated with oral predonisolone without improvement. A number of white granular lesions with erosions were observed on the hard palate and buccal mucosa. Histopathological examination revealed a well-demarcated abscess with an accumulation of neutrophils, surrounded by epithelioid cell granulomas. Round eosinophilic bodies, considered to be fungal elements, positive for PAS and Grocott staining, were observed. Chest CT revealed cavities in the lung. A white yeast-like colony was cultured from bronchial lavage fluid and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was identified. The patient was treated with liposomal amphotericin B followed by oral itraconazole 400 mg/day, with a favorable clinical course. Paracoccidioidomycosis, an imported mycosis, is rare in Japan and sometimes causes difficulty in diagnosis, resulting in inappropriate treatment.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Amphotericin B / therapeutic use
  • Antifungal Agents / therapeutic use
  • Biopsy
  • Granuloma / diagnosis
  • Granuloma / drug therapy
  • Granuloma / pathology
  • Humans
  • Itraconazole / therapeutic use
  • Japan
  • Lung / drug effects
  • Lung / pathology
  • Male
  • Paracoccidioides / drug effects
  • Paracoccidioides / isolation & purification*
  • Paracoccidioidomycosis / drug therapy
  • Paracoccidioidomycosis / epidemiology
  • Paracoccidioidomycosis / pathology*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antifungal Agents
  • liposomal amphotericin B
  • Itraconazole
  • Amphotericin B