Ocular Sporotrichosis

Abstract

Sporotrichosis is a subacute or chronic mycosis predominant in tropical and subtropical regions. It is an infection of subcutaneous tissue caused by Sporothrix fungus species, but occasionally resulting in an extracutaneous condition, including osteoarticular, pulmonary, nervous central system, and ocular disease. Cases of ocular sporotrichosis are rare, but reports have been increasing in recent decades. Ocular infections usually occur in hyperendemic areas of sporotrichosis. For its classification, anatomic criteria are used. The clinical presentation is the infection in the ocular adnexal and intraocular infection. Ocular adnexa infections include palpebral, conjunctivitis, and infections of the lacrimal sac. Intraocular infection includes exogenous or endogenous endophthalmitis. Most infections in the ocular adnexal have been reported in Brazil, China and Peru, and intraocular infections are limited to the USA and Brazil. Diagnosis is performed from Sporothrix isolation in the mycological examination from ocular or skin samples. Both sporotrichosis in the ocular adnexa and intraocular infection can mimic several infectious and non-infectious medical conditions. Ocular adnexa infections are treated with potassium iodide and itraconazole. The intraocular infection is treated with amphotericin B. This review describes the clinical findings and epidemiological, diagnosis, and treatment of ocular sporotrichosis.

Ocular Sporotrichosis: Different Spectrums of Clinical Manifestations and a Review of the Literature

“…The number of reported cases has been increasing in endemic areas in Brazil and Peru [ 3 ]. Eyelid nodules and granulomatous conjunctivitis are the most reported presentations in the eye, while intraocular infection is exceedingly rare and has only been reported in isolated case reports and in a systematic review in the published literature [ 4 ]. In Asian countries, the distribution of cases was sporadic, with the largest reported number of cases in China and a limited number of ocular sporotrichosis reports in Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia [ 5 ].…”

Clinical factors associated with systemic sporotrichosis in Brazil

“…Besides fungal isolation from other clinical specimen, we considered bones and joint alterations observed by imaging tests. Ocular sporotrichosis was considered when there was an isolation of Sporothrix from any clinical specimen and intraocular lesions (endogenous endophthalmitis) 12 . Lesions in the nose and oral cavity were grouped as mucosal lesions.…”

Ocular Fungal Infections

“…They can be subdivided into preseptal infections and postseptal infections, usually called orbital cellulitis [ 3 ] ( Figure 1 ). In this special issue of the journal, a review describes the epidemiological findings, clinical, diagnosis, and treatment of ocular sporotrichosis, a subcutaneous mycosis, which can occasionally result in an ocular condition [ 18 ]. The findings reveal that between infections in the ocular adnexa, palpebral sporotrichosis is the most common clinical manifestation followed by conjunctivitis and dacryocystitis.…”

“…These infections usually occur in hyperendemic areas of sporotrichosis such as Brazil, China, and Peru. This study also aims to describe the most common findings of conjunctival sporotrichosis, and the differences between tarsal and bulbar conjunctivitis caused by Sporothrix [ 18 ].…”

“…Haseeb et al, presented an updated review on the diagnosis and management of fungal endophthalmitis, whose prevalence is lower than bacterial endophthalmitis and clinically threatens patients’ vision [ 26 ]. Another review describes the differences in clinical and epidemiological characteristics and the differential diagnosis of exogenous and endogenous endophthalmitis caused by Sporothrix [ 18 ].…”