Case Report
Typical Facial Lesions: A Window of Suspicion for Progressive
Disseminated Histoplasmosis—A Case of Asian Prototype
Prasan K. Panda,
1
Siddharth Jain,
1
Rita Sood,
1
Rajni Yadav,
2
and Naval K. Vikram
1
1
Department of Internal Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India
2
Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India
Correspondence should be addressed to Naval K. Vikram; navalvikram@gmail.com
Received 27 July 2016; Accepted 8 September 2016
Academic Editor: Larry M. Bush
Copyright © 2016 Prasan K. Panda et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Histoplasmosis is caused by a dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum in endemic areas, mainly America, Africa, and Asia.
In India, it is being reported from most states; however, it is endemic along the Ganges belt. We report a case of an apparently
immunocompetent male who presented with 3-month history of fever, cough, and weight loss with recent onset odynophagia
and had hepatosplenomegaly and mucocutaneous lesions over the face. he diferential diagnosis of leishmaniasis, tuberculosis,
leprosy, fungal infection, lymphoproliferative malignancy, and other granulomatous disorders was considered, but he succumbed
to his illness. Antemortem skin biopsy and bone marrow aspiration along with postmortem liver, lung, and spleen biopsy showed
disseminated histoplasmosis. his case highlights the need for an early suspicion of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis in
the presence of classical mucocutaneous lesions even in an immunocompetent patient sufering from a febrile illness. Cure rate
approaches almost 100% with early treatment, whereas it is universally fatal if let untreated.
1. Introduction
Classical histoplasmosis, also known as Darling disease,
was irst discovered in 1906 [1]. It is an endemic mycosis,
caused by two species known to be pathogenic to man (H.
capsulatum var. capsulatum and H. capsulatum var. duboisii).
H. capsulatum is highly endemic in North America along
the rivers Ohio and Mississippi, but Southeast and Southern
Asia have focal endemicity, which is underrecognized due to
the low awareness of the disease, misdiagnosis of the disease
oten as tuberculosis or leishmaniasis, and lack of proper
diagnostic facilities [2]. “Asian histoplasmosis” as proposed
difers from the American or African type, in having more
mucocutaneous manifestations and a propensity for acute
adrenal insuiciency, but the latter fact is disputed in many
recent studies [3]. In India, the irst case of histoplasmosis
was reported in 1954, following which many case reports, two
successive systematic reviews, and three large hospital based
retrospective studies have been published in the literature [4–
6]. A majority of cases have been reported from the eastern
parts of the country, especially along the belt of Ganges and
Brahmaputra, which may be related to the climate, humidity
level, and soil characteristics. Due to migration and increased
urbanization, cases are being reported from all over the
country. Clinical suspicion should be high to diagnose cases
in nonendemic areas.
his fungus grows in soil enriched with bird drop-
pings, reaches human alveoli through inhalation, and causes
varied clinical presentations ranging from self-limiting lu-
like illness or acute or chronic pulmonary histoplasmosis
to progressive disseminated histoplasmosis, depending on
the quantity of antigen exposure and immune status of
the individual [6]. All organs can be involved during the
process of dissemination, but the reticuloendothelial system,
skin, adrenals, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs are the most
commonly involved sites [7]. Henceforth, skin may act as a
window for early diagnosis of disseminated histoplasmosis.
We report an immunocompetent patient with dissem-
inated histoplasmosis in whom an early suspicion of the
disease may have improved the prognosis.
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Infectious Diseases
Volume 2016, Article ID 2865241, 5 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2865241