Tuberc Respir Dis.  1980 Sep;27(3):118-121. 10.4046/trd.1980.27.3.118.

First Case of Pulmonary Petriellidiosis in Korea

• KMID: 2528879
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.1980.27.3.118

Abstract

Petriellidium boydii (imperfect form. Monosporium apiospermum) is widely distributed in nature, having been isolated from the soils, from sea-water and from sewage. Such ubiquity of the fungus in human habitat cause a variety of diseases in man and animals. The fungus is an important etiologic agent of human eumycetomas, rarely of meningitis and of pulmonary infections. There has been no record of the isolation of P. boydii from nature in Korea and also no report of a case of petriellidiosis in Korea previously. Therefore this is the first description of a case of pulmonary petriellidiosis in Korea. The patient is a 30-year-old man residing in Seoul and he was under unsucessful tuberculosis chemotherapy mainly due to irregular drug ingestion and poor regimen since his pulmonary tuberculosis had been diagnosed at a physical examination for conscription in 1970. Introduction of powerful retreatment regimen, rifampicin-cycloserinekanamycin, started on October 1977 at the KIT-Clinic greatly improved his chest roentgenograms, showing an apparent shrinkage of a large cavity in the upper lobe of the left lung and no more acid fast bacilli in his sputum. Continuous negativity of acid fast bacilli in his sputum since then apparently indicated a good chemotherapy respense. However he complained intermittent hemoptysis since February 1980 and his sputum culture in Sabouraud’s agar produced numerous Colonies of P. boydii. The same fungus was continuously isolated from the sputum specimens collected on April, May and September 1980. The patient serum produced more than 3 precipitin bands on immunodiffusion test using 10 times concentrated culture filtrate antigen. of p. boydi: The serum also react weakly with similarly prepared antigens of A. flavus and C. albicans, but not with antigens of A. tumigatus and A. nidulans. The patient might be infected currently or previously with A. flavus and C. albicans Unfortunately pulmonary function of the patient does not allow surgical excision of the infected area.