Recurrent Arthritis by Candida glabrata, a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Challenge

A case of fungal conjunctivitis with giant papillae treated surgically

Fungal conjunctivitis is a rare disorder, with low incidence and difficulty in diagnosis due to a lack of specific clinical findings. We report a case of fungal conjunctivitis which exhibited a specific clinical feature of giant papilla formation, and its diagnosis was a complex process. A 19-year-old woman with a history of atopic dermatitis and hard contact lens use was referred to us with a 3-month history of giant papillary conjunctivitis of the right eye in spite of treatment with antiallergic and corticosteroid eye drops, complicated by intraocular pressure elevation. The left eye showed no symptom of ocular surface disorder throughout the clinical course. The right eye did not respond to oral corticosteroid. Polymerase chain reaction of conjunctival scrapings against Chlamydia trachomatis was negative, and she was treated surgically by total papilla resection. Conjunctival giant papilla recurrence was not observed after surgery. Although the primary histopathological diagnosis was chronic inflammation due to atopic keratoconjunctivitis, repeated histopathological survey of excised conjunctival tissue including immunohistochemical staining revealed histiocytes, yeast type spores and hyphae, and phagocytosed spores and hyphae in macrophages. The causative organism was identified morphologically as a Candida species. Later, histopathological examination of a cervical swab revealed the presence of Candida sp. This rare case indicates that a fungal organism may underlie refractory conjunctivitis with specific giant papillary hypertrophy mimicking vernal keratoconjunctivitis.

Candida glabrata-Induced Refractory Infectious Arthritis: A Case Report and Literature Review

The incidence of deep fungal infection due to non-albicans Candida species (especially Candida glabrata) has significantly increased in recent decades. Candida glabrata is an opportunistic pathogen of low virulence which mainly invades the gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and respiratory tracts, but has rarely been reported as complication of articular surgery in the literature. We present a case of knee fungal arthritis caused by C. glabrata after a minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery. In this case, the patient's knee got infected after arthroscopic treatment for a recurrent popliteal cyst, and she was unable to be cured by either debridement or antifungal drugs. Mycological and molecular identification of the necrotic tissues isolate revealed C. glabrata as etiologic agent. We originally planned to conduct a debridement once again, but it was found that the articular cartilage was extensively damaged during the operation. Besides, the magnetic resonance imaging of the affected knee also showed that the infection had invaded the subchondral bone. So we treated this case with a two-stage primary total knee arthroplasty with an antibiotic-laden cement spacer block. After a 10-month follow-up, the patient had completely recovered and has not experienced any recurrence to date. In addition, we review 21 cases of C. glabrata-induced infectious arthritis described to date in the literature.