Paracoccidioidomycosis manifesting as oral lesions: clinical, cytological and serological investigation

Abstract

Paracoccidioidomycosis (South American blastomycosis) is a systemic mycosis which can be associated with oral lesions. This study on a group of 14 patients showed oral lesions mainly on the gingival or alveolar mucosa, with pulmonary involvement detectable on chest radiography in most. Microscopic detection of the fungus on a direct smear showed positive results in all 14 patients. Serological investigations including immunodiffusion, counterimmunoelectrophoresis and immunoblot were also positive in 100% of cases. The results suggest that direct smear together with serology may obviate the need for lesional biopsy for the diagnosis of oral paracoccidioidomycosis.

Erratum: Paracoccidioidomycosis of the Mouth: an Emerging Deep Mycosis

“…In 36 cases of Pmycosis with oral involvement, 89% were in males; 69% had multiple lesions in the mouth, with 78% on the gingiva, 47% on the palate, 36% the lips, and 25% the buccal mucosa (Sposto et al, 1993). Most studies show a preponderance for oral paracoccidioidomycosis to affect white patients Sposto et al, 1994;Bicalho et al, 2001). Frequent oral involvement has also been found in autopsy studies (Montenegro and Franco, 1994).…”

Case of Recurrent Paracoccidioidomycosis in Female 10 Years after Initial Treatment

“…A striking feature of its epidemiology is its increased frequency in males, tobacco users, and restriction to people who have been in close contact with rainforests or agricultural regions 7) . The majority of case reports on PMC concern males, and there are few case reports available on PMC in females 9,[11][12][13][14]17,18,25,28) . In this case, the patient was a female smoker who had worked in an agricultural region 10 years prior to moving to a metropolitan region.…”

Oral Exfoliative Cytology in the Diagnosis of Paracoccidioidomycosis

“…Other methods that have been utilized are direct smear examination, culture of the fungi, serologic tests and pulmonary cytology. 8,9,14 However, the efficacy of oral exfoliative cytology stained with the Gomori-Grocott method for the diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis has not been evaluated before.…”

“…Those oral manifestations are characterized by painful, chronic proliferative or ulcerative lesions with a mulberrylike appearance, and involvement of multiple oral sites is frequent. 1,[13][14][15] The diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis is usually performed on the basis of a clinical examination, pulmonary radiograph to detect pulmonary lesions and biopsies, in which the fungus is promptly identified. Other methods that have been utilized are direct smear examination, culture of the fungi, serologic tests and pulmonary cytology.…”