Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2022 Jan 6:35:18-21.
doi: 10.1016/j.mmcr.2022.01.002. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Obstructive hydrocephalus and intracerebral mass secondary to Epicoccum nigrum

Taylor L Charron  1 , Michelle A Gill  2 , Laura M Filkins  3 , Veena Rajaram  4   5 , Christian A Wysocki  6 , Brett A Whittemore  7   8
Affiliations
Case Reports

Obstructive hydrocephalus and intracerebral mass secondary to Epicoccum nigrum

Taylor L Charron et al. Med Mycol Case Rep. .

Abstract

Here we report a case of a 14-week-old girl with a history of intrauterine drug exposure and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy secondary to cardiac arrest requiring prolonged resuscitation at birth presented with irritability and a bulging anterior fontanelle. After neurosurgical resection, pathologic examination showed fungal hyphae, and Epicoccum nigrum was detected by fungal PCR and sequencing. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a central nervous system infection due to Epicoccum nigrum.

Keywords: Epicoccum nigrum; Fungal CNS infection; Intracerebral fungal mass; Obstructive hydrocephalus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The statements on funding, conflict of interest and consent need to be submitted via our Ethical Form that can be downloaded from the submission site www.ees.elsevier.com/mmcr. Please note that your manuscript will not be considered for publication until the signed Ethical Form has been received.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
MRI (A) T1 pre-contrast sagittal image showing a cystic and solid mass measuring 2.4 x 2.4 cm with marked enlargement of the right lateral ventricle. (B) T2 coronal image demonstrating right to left midline shift that caused mass effect on the cerebral aqueduct. (C) T1 post-contrast axial image shows enhancement about the periphery of the cystic portion of the tumor. DWI axial image (D) and ADC axial image (E) demonstrate restricted diffusion centrally in the solid portion of the tumor.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A) H&E stain shows fragments of necrotic tissue with scattered fragments of brain parenchyma with reactive gliosis, infiltrated by neutrophils and macrophages. Several pale hyphal structures are seen in areas of necrosis. Histology (B, C) PAS-fungus stains highlight clusters of hyphae and areas of necrosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dubey A., Patwardhan R.v., Sampth S., Santosh V., Kolluri S., Nanda A. Intracranial fungal granuloma: analysis of 40 patients and review of the literature. Surg. Neurol. 2005;63:254–260. doi: 10.1016/j.surneu.2004.04.020. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Góralska K., Blaszkowska J., Dzikowiec M. Neuroinfections caused by fungi. Infection. 2018;46:443–459. doi: 10.1007/s15010-018-1152-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brandt M.E., Warnock D.W. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and therapy of infections caused by dematiaceous fungi. J. Chemother. 2003;15:36–47. doi: 10.1179/joc.2003.15.supplement-2.36. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Noble J.A., Crow S.A., Ahearn D.G., Kuhn F.A. Allergic fungal sinusitis in the southeastern USA: involvement of a new agent Epicoccum nigrurn Ehrenb. ex Schlecht. 1824;1997 https://academic.oup.com/mmy/article/35/6/405/978257 - PubMed
    1. Suchitra S.M., Laxman P.G.G., Shrikala B., Ashok B.M. A renal bezoar of Epicoccum nigrum: an unusual clinical curiosity. J. Clin. Diagn. Res. 2012;6:905–907.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources