Fungal infection of the external auditory canal (otitis externa and otomycosis) is a chronic, acute, or subacute superficial mycotic infection that rarely involves middle ear. Otomycosis (swimmer's ear) is usually unilateral infection and affects more females than males. The infection is usually symptomatic and main symptoms are pruritus, otalgia, aural fullness, hearing impairment, otorrhea, and tinnitus. Fungal species such as yeasts, molds, dermatophytes, and Malassezia species are agents for otitis externa. Among molds, Aspergillus niger was described as the most common agent in the literature. Candida albicans was more prevalent than other yeast species. Otomycosis has a worldwide distribution, but the prevalence of infection is related to the geographical location, areas with tropical and subtropical climate showing higher prevalence rates. Otomycosis is a secondary infection and is more prevalent among swimmers. As a result, a higher incidence is reported in summer season, when more people interested in swimming. Incidence of otomycosis in our review ranged from 5.7 to 81 %, with a mean value of 51.3 %. Our results showed that 78.59 % of otomycosis agents were Aspergillus, 16.76 % were Candida species, and the rest (4.65 %) were other saprophytic fungi. Among Iranian patients, incidence of infection was highest in summer, followed by autumn, winter, and spring. In Iran, otomycosis was most prevalent at the age of 20-40 years and the lowest prevalence was associated with being <10 years old. The sex ratio of otomycosis in our study was (M/F) 1:1.53.
A P e e r -R e v i e w e d B i m o n t h l y J o u r n a l I S S N 2 1 4 9 -3 2 3 5 • E I S S N 2 1 4 9 -3 0 5 7 I n d e x e d i n P u b M e d , W e b o f S c i e n c e a n d S c o p u s Pankaj M. Joshi and Sanjay B. Kulkarni, 3D printing of pelvic fracture urethral injuries-fusion of technology and urethroplasty. Page: 76 A P e e r -R e v i e w e d B ı m o n t h l y J o u r n a l A P e e r -R e v i e w e d B ı m o n t h l y J o u r n a l A P e e r -R e v i e w e d B ı m o n t h l y J o u r n a l A P e e r -R e v i e w e d B ı m o n t h l y J o u r n a l AIMS AND SCOPE Turkish Journal of Urology (Turk J Urol) is the scientific, peer reviewed, open access publication of the Turkish Association of Urology. The journal is aThe aim of the Turkish Journal of Urology is to contribute to the literature by publishing scientifically high-quality research articles as well as reviews, editorials, letters to the editor and case reports.The journal's target audience includes, urology specialists, medical specialty fellows and other specialists and practitioners who are interested in the field of urology.The editorial and publication processes of the journal are shaped in accordance with the guidelines of the International
Background
Esophageal candidiasis is the most frequent form of esophagitis. The pathogenicity of Candida spp. is related to a combination of microbial factors, hydrolytic enzyme secretion and phenotypic switching. This study was designed to investigate esophageal candidiasis, antifungal activity, enzymatic activity patterns, phenotyping, and genotyping profiles of Candida albicans species.
Methods
Nine hundred thirty‐three visited patients were evaluated, and esophageal biopsies from patients were included in this study during 2019–2020. Direct smear, Gram staining, and culture on CHROMagar were performed for each sample. Isolated species were identified with conventional procedures and PCR‐RFLP. Susceptibility to antifungals was determined according to CLSI guidelines. ABC typing, phenotype switching, hemolysin, proteinase, phospholipase, and esterase activity were also determined with the appropriate protocols.
Results
Twenty‐three (2.5%) patients (mean age 55.2 years) were diagnosed with esophageal candidiasis. The species isolated were 19(82.6%) C. albicans, 3(13.1%) C. glabrata, and 1(4.3%) C. tropicalis. Genotype A (57.9%) was the predominant type in C. albicans isolates. 50% of C. albicans isolates exhibited a white phenotype. A high level of phospholipase (47.4%), hemolysin (68.4%), and proteinase activity (36.8%) was observed in the C. albicans isolates. Only three C. glabrata isolates displayed non‐wild type susceptibility to voriconazole and itraconazole.
Conclusion
This study shows that C. albicans are still the most frequent isolates from patients with esophageal candidiasis. The predominance of genotype A, the white phenotype, and strong hemolysin activity may indicate a high prevalence of pathogenicity in these isolates. Sensitivity to antifungal drugs was greatest for amphotericin and fluconazole.
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