Question

A 23 yr old male with a 3 yr history of pain and itching of the toes of the feet and his left palm and fingers. Peeling and scaling were observed on his feet and left palm. In the past three months, he has been training several hours a day for a triathlon.

1. What type of specimen would you collect to isolate the organism and what type of reagent would be used for a direct examination to make the fungus easier to visualize?

2. What is this patient likely suffering from?

3. What organisms are typically associated with this disease?

4. Differentiate the likely organisms from each other by creating a flow chart.

Answer 1

A 23 yr old male with a 3 yr history of pain and itching of the toes of the feet and his left palm and fingers. Peeling and scaling were observed on his feet and left palm. In the past three months, he has been training several hours a day for a triathlon. Patient is most likely suffering from fungal infection of foot and palm. Fungal infection of foot commonly known as Tinea pedis ( Athlete's foot) and fungal infection of palm known as Tinea manuum.

1. What type of specimen would you collect to isolate the organism -  Skin scraping for KOH test and fungal culture for isolate the organism.

And what type of reagent would be used for a direct examination to make the fungus easier to visualize? Potassium hydroxide (KOH) reagent used for direct microscopy.

2. Patient is most likely suffering from fungal infection of foot and palm. Fungal infection of foot commonly known as Tinea pedis ( Athlete's foot) and fungal infection of palm known as Tinea manuum.

3. Athlete's foot is most commonly caused by the molds(dermatophytes) known as Trichophyton rubrum, T. mentagrophytes and Epidermophyton floccosum.

4. Differentiate the likely organisms from each other by creating a flow chart.

Thanks and please update.