Pulmonary infection of Schizophyllum commune diagnosed by metagenomic next- generation sequencing: A case report

Abstract

Rationale: Fungal infection is common and difficult to be diagnosed timely in clinical, for its various kinds and similar manifestations. The rare pulmonary fungal infection such as Schizophyllum commune was one of the harder ones and misdiagnosed in usual. Patient concerns: We report a 32-year-old female which was diagnosed with Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS). She was hospitalized with the complaint of 4 months and more of repeated cough and expectorating. The chest computer tomography revealed left lower lobe pathological changes, but antibiotics were ineffective. No positive results were found in laboratory tests, including sputum culture and the pathology of lung puncture biopsy. Diagnoses: mNGS of lung biopsy was performed and detected the sequence number of Schizophyllum for 11. Interventions: The patient was treated with voriconazole and itraconazole successively. Outcomes: She recovered to health. There was no recurrence during follow-up. Lessons: mNGS as a diagnostic method could quickly detect pathogens through the processing of fragment, synthesis, comparison, and analysis of sample genes. It is suitable for detecting especially rare and polymicrobial infections. To our best knowledge, infection of Schizophyllum commune have not been reported in English literature with diagnostic method of mNGS.

Successful management of nasopharyngitis caused by <i>Schizophyllum commune</i> in a captive cheetah (<i>Acinonyx jubatus</i>)

“…This case study suggests that S. commune may cause granulomatous nasopharyngitis and surgical resection of the nodules, and subsequent medication with antifungal agents is the curative therapy for a captive cheetah. In this case, treatment with fluconazole was insufficient; in contrast, itraconazole exhibited a curative therapeutic effect, as suggested in previous studies [ 7 , 12 , 13 ]. However, the therapeutic effects of surgical treatment combined with antifungal medication remain unclear, and the relatively long-term remission of 73 days after fluconazole administration might have been due to the debulking of gross lesions.…”

“…The basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune is a common mushroom species that is isolated from various natural sources. However, it has been reported that the mushroom is occasionally responsible for infections in humans and animals [ 1 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 11 , 13 ]. In humans, S. commune infection has been reported as allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis, allergic fungal rhinosinusitis, and mucoid impaction of the bronchi [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 10 ].…”

“…Sequence similarity to these species was 100%. Of these, we considered that the cause of nasopharyngitis in this cheetah was S. commune based on the following reasons: M. restricta is yeast, S. radula is the fungus that grows on woods and has not previously reported as the infection source for vertebrates, although it was not defined that S. commune is responsible for this disease because of lacking fungal culture [ 1 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 11 , 13 ].…”

Macrofungi as Medicinal Resources in Uzbekistan: Biodiversity, Ethnomycology, and Ethnomedicinal Practices

“…In European and American countries, it is considered inedible, largely due to cultural tastes, small stature, and its presumed leathery texture. Literature reports on S. commune have mainly implicated the fungus with multiple pulmonary manifestations ranging from sinusitis, allergic bronchopulmonary mycoses, asthma, chronic eosinophilic pneumonia, and so on [ 251 , 252 ].…”