Hand surgeon diagnosis and management of cutaneous infection with Purpureocillium lilacinium of the upper extremity: A mimicker of necrotizing fasciitis

Abstract

Purpureocillium lilacinum is a filamentous fungus commonly found in soil that has been recognized as an opportunistic pathogen. Cutaneous infections with Purpureocillium lilacinum are relatively rare, and they usually occur in individuals with some predisposing factors such as minor trauma or pre-existing skin conditions. Infections in immunocompetent individuals are unexpected due to the fungus’s typically low pathogenicity and the robust immune response of healthy individuals. In immunocompetent hosts, the skin serves as an effective barrier against many fungal infections. While cases of cutaneous infections in immunocompetent hosts have been documented, they are considered rare outliers. Presented is the case of a 93-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with a 10-day history of progressive, painful left upper extremity erythema and swelling. The patient had aggressive progression of hemorrhagic bullae requiring surgical debridement. While the patient’s presentation was originally thought to be consistent with necrotizing fasciitis, only cutaneous necrosis was encountered, and the patient was ultimately diagnosed with a superficial P. lilacinum infection. The failure of treatment leading to death in the described case could be attributed to a combination of factors including intrinsic resistance of the fungus, delayed diagnosis, underlying health conditions, antifungal susceptibility variations, fungal persistence, and immunosuppressive factors.

Keywords

Cutaneous mold / Necrotizing fasciitis / Purpureocillium lilacinium / Soft tissue infection / Upper extremity

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Not applicable.

AUTHORS CONTRIBUTIONS

Dr. Matthew Weber, Dr. Brady Ernst, and Dr. Omar Protzuk were responsible for writing, review, and editing of the sub-mitted manuscript. Dr. Brady Ernst was also involved in the patient’s care. Dr. Jessica Frankenhoff was responsible for patient care as well as review and editing of the submitted manuscript.

FUNDING

Not applicable.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

INFORMED CONSENT

Obtained.

ETHICS APPROVAL

The Publication Ethics Committee of the Sciedu Press. The journal’s policies adhere to the Core Practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

PROVENANCE AND PEER REVIEW

Not commissioned; externally double-blind peer reviewed.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

DATA SHARING STATEMENT

No additional data are available.

OPEN ACCESS

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

COPYRIGHTS

Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal.

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