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Phaeohyphomycosis: Infection Due to Dark (Dematiaceous) Molds

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Book cover Diagnosis and Treatment of Fungal Infections

Part of the book series: Infectious Disease ((ID))

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Abstract

Dematiaceous, or darkly pigmented fungi are a large, heterogeneous group of organisms that have been associated with a wide variety of clinical syndromes. These are uncommon causes of human disease, but can be responsible for life-threatening infections in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. In recent years, these fungi have been increasingly recognized as important pathogens and the spectrum of diseases they are associated with has also broadened.

The clinical syndromes caused by the dark-walled fungi are typically distinguished based on characteristic histologic findings into chromoblastomycosis, mycetoma, and phaeohyphomycosis. Chromoblastomycosis and mycetoma are caused by a small group of fungi that are associated with characteristic structures in tissues and are usually seen in tropical areas. These are discussed in Chap. 22 (Fungal Infections of Implantation). Phaeohyphomycosis is a term introduced by Ajello et al. in 1974, which literally means “infection caused by dark-walled fungi”. It is a catch-all term generally reserved for the remainder of clinical syndromes caused by dematiaceous fungi that range from superficial infections and allergic disease to brain abscess and widely disseminated disease. These fungi are alternately called phaeoid, dematiaceous, dark, or black molds. While typically, phaeohyphomycosis is a term limited to infections caused by the dark molds, there are dark yeasts that rarely cause infection, and these are also included under this grouping by many experts.

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Suggested Reading

  • Clancy CJ, Wingard JR, Hong NM. Subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis in transplant recipients: review of the literature and demonstration of in vitro synergy between antifungal agents. Med Mycol. 2000;38:169–75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn FA, Javer AR. Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis: perioperative management, prevention of recurrence, and role of steroids and antifungal agents. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2000;33:419–33.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Revankar SG, Sutton DA. Melanized fungi in human disease. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2010;23:884–928.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Revankar SG, Sutton DA, Rinaldi MG. Primary central nervous system phaeohyphomycosis: a review of 101 cases. Clin Infect Dis. 2004;38:206–16.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Revankar SG, Patterson JE, Sutton DA, Pullen R, Rinaldi MG. Disseminated phaeohyphomycosis: review of an emerging mycosis. Clin Infect Dis. 2002;34:467–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sharkey PK, Graybill JR, Rinaldi MG, et al. Itraconazole treatment of phaeohyphomycosis. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1990;23:577–86.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Srinivasan M. Fungal keratitis. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2004;15:321–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Infectious Diseases, Harper University Hospital, 3990 John R St., 48201, Detroit, MI, USA

    Sanjay G. Revankar

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  1. Sanjay G. Revankar
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Correspondence to Sanjay G. Revankar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University Of Texas Health Science Cente, San Antonio, Texas, USA

    Duane R. Hospenthal

  2. University of Texas, San Antonio Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA

    Michael G. Rinaldi

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Revankar, S. (2015). Phaeohyphomycosis: Infection Due to Dark (Dematiaceous) Molds. In: Hospenthal, D., Rinaldi, M. (eds) Diagnosis and Treatment of Fungal Infections. Infectious Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13090-3_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13090-3_12

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