Rare case of fungal keratitis caused by Plectosporium tabacinum

Rika Kamada,¹ Yu Monden,¹ Koji Uehara,¹ Ryoji Yamakawa,¹ Kazuko Nishimura<sup>2

1</sup>Department of Ophthalmology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, ²Medical Mycology Research Center, Chiba University and First Laboratories Co, Ltd, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan

Abstract: A rare case of fungal keratitis caused by Plectosporium tabacinum is reported. A 78-year-old female gardener presented with conjunctivitis and an oval infiltrate with irregular margins in the nasal half of the cornea in the right eye. Light microscopy of corneal scrapings revealed a filamentous fungus, and a diagnosis of fungal keratitis was made. The patient was admitted into our hospital on February 19, 2008. Treatment with topical miconazole, topical fluconazole, pimaricin ointment, intravenous miconazole, and corneal debridement was commenced. One week later, the infiltrate improved, but the central part of the infiltrate was still deep. Topical fluconazole was switched to topical voriconazole, and intravenous miconazole was switched to intravenous voriconazole. One month after admission, the causative organism was identified by morphology and molecular biological analysis as Plectosporium tabacinum. The corneal infiltrate resolved 3 months after admission. A stromal scar persisted for 3 months after the patient was discharged. This is the first detailed report of fungal keratitis caused by P. tabacinum. Voriconazole was effective in treating this refractory keratitis.

Keywords: fungal keratitis, Plectosporium tabacinum, voriconazole, filamentous fungi