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Fusarium falciforme Infection of Foot in a Patient with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

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Abstract

Fungal infections of foot in patients with diabetes are not uncommon; however, foot infection due to Fusarium species has been rarely reported. We report here a case of a 50-year-old male with type 2 diabetes who developed multiple spontaneous nodular lesions on right foot without any systemic symptoms and signs for 6 months. The lesions were unresponsive to broad-spectrum antibacterial treatment. Fine needle aspiration cytology of nodular lesions revealed the presence of fungal hyphae, and Fusarium species was isolated from the same sample which was identified as Fusarium solani species complex: Fusarium falciforme. Radiological investigations and blood culture ruled out any dissemination of the disease. The lesions healed after voriconazole therapy for 3 months. No relapse was noted at the end of the next 6-month follow-up. All reported cases of Fusarium infection of foot in patients with diabetes in English and non-English literature since 1970 have been reviewed.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the Indian council of Medical Research for supporting the NCCPF where the molecular identification was done. We are grateful to Department of Photography (Mr. Brij Lal and Mr. Abhijeet) for the taking patient’s photographs. We also thank Mr. Prakamya Gupta, Ms. Shallu, Ms. Pooja, and Mr. Parveen Garg for manuscript editing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, 160012, India

    Pinaki Dutta, A. Premkumar, Viral N. Shah & Anil Bhansali

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

    Arunaloke Chakrabarti & Shivaprakash M. Rudramurthy

  3. Department of Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

    Arnanshu Behera

  4. Department of Dermatology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

    Deepankar De

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  1. Pinaki Dutta
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  2. A. Premkumar
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Correspondence to Pinaki Dutta.

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Dutta, P., Premkumar, A., Chakrabarti, A. et al. Fusarium falciforme Infection of Foot in a Patient with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Mycopathologia 176, 225–232 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-013-9646-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-013-9646-z

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