TY - JOUR ID - 118456 TI - Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis due to Rhinocladiella mackenziei in an immunocompetent patient: A case report and review of literature JO - Current Medical Mycology JA - CMM LA - en SN - 2423-3439 AU - Mushtaq, Muhammad Zain AU - Mahmood, Saad Bin Zafar AU - Nasir, Nosheen AU - Rashid, Malik Saad AU - Irshad, Memoona AU - habib, Kiren AU - Khanum, Iffat AD - Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan Y1 - 2020 PY - 2020 VL - 6 IS - 3 SP - 65 EP - 68 KW - Brain abscess KW - Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis KW - Fungal KW - Pakistan KW - Rhinocladiella Mackenziei DO - 10.18502/cmm.6.3.4497 N2 - Background and Purpose: Rhinocladiella mackenziei is a neurotropic fungus, which can cause devastating intracerebral infections with up to 100% fatality rate. It is difficult to isolate this fungus in laboratory as it grows slowly and requires diagnostic skills. Case report: A 42-year-old Pakistani man presented with headache, facial numbness, progressive upper limb weakness, and dysarthria. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a space-occupying lesion in the basal ganglia region. The patient underwent supratentorial craniotomy for biopsy and excision. Histopathology of the specimen revealed granulomatous inflammation with abscess formation. Periodic acid-Schiff special stains highlighted the presence of numerous septate fungal hyphae. The results revealed the growth of dematiaceous fungi, which were morphologically classified as R. mackenziei. The patient is currently stable and is being on amphotericin and posaconazole, along with neurorehabilitation therapy. Conclusion: Rhinocladiella mackenziei brain abscess is a devastating infection with significant mortality. This condition should be suspected in patients with brain abscess from high endemic areas.   UR - https://cmm.mazums.ac.ir/article_118456.html L1 - https://cmm.mazums.ac.ir/article_118456_2416b58cdb6549bdb2e1d80518337bfa.pdf ER -