Cutaneous Hyalohyphomycosis and Onychomycosis Caused by Onychocola canadensis: Report of the First Case from Turkey

• Published in: Journal of dermatology Vol. 29; no. 8; pp. 522 - 528
• Main Authors: Erbagci, Zülal, Balci, Iclal, Erkiliç, Suna, Zer, Yasemin, Inci, Ramazan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-08-2002
• Subjects: cutaneous hyalohyphomycosis; Dermatomycoses - complications; Dermatomycoses - epidemiology; Dermatomycoses - pathology; Humans; Hyphomycetes; itraconazole; Male; Middle Aged; Mitosporic Fungi; Onychocola canadensis; onychomycosis; Onychomycosis - complications; Onychomycosis - epidemiology; Onychomycosis - pathology; Solanum tuberosum; Trichophyton; Turkey - epidemiology; Turkey
• ISSN: 0385-2407; 1346-8138
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1346-8138.2002.tb00320.x

We present the first Turkish case of skin and nail infection due to Onychocola canadensis in an otherwise healthy farmer who frequently worked barefoot on soil. Cutaneous involvement consisted of scaly and hyperkeratotic lesions resembling tinea pedis, erythematous plaques, and dermal papulonodules of various sizes simulating Majocchi's granuloma. Repeated cultures from nail plates, skin scrapings and needle aspiration materials from papules or nodules all yielded the same mold on Sabouroud dextrose media with and without cycloheximide, trichophyton agar, and potato dextrose agar at 26°C. The causal isolate was identified as Onychocola canadensis Sigler gen. et sp. nov., a slow‐growing arthroconidial hyphomycete, on the basis of its colonial and microscopic morphology. While skin lesions were responsive to daily itraconazole in a dose of 200 mg for three months, the onychomycosis was resistant to therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first presentation of O. canadensis as the cause of cutaneous hyalohyphomycosis to date.