Corneal ulcer – gram stain. Corneal scrapings were taken from a 67 yr old farmer presenting with a corneal ulcer of the right eye. A piece of vegetable matter was embedded in the cornea and scrapings were done. Gram stain (500x magnification) showed
Corneal ulcer – gram stain. Corneal scrapings were taken from a 67 yr old farmer presenting with a corneal ulcer of the right eye. A piece of vegetable matter was embedded in the cornea and scrapings were done. Gram stain (500x magnification) showed numerous septate hyphae. Cultures grew a small amount of A fumigatus.
A 43 year old with smoking related emphysema was admitted to hospital with two separate episodes of haemoptysis. He had been in good health up to 1989, when he was diagnosed as having bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis. At that time a CT scan revealed a cavity in the left upper lobe (20.8cm2) with adjacent confluent infiltrates and pleural thickening. On bronchoscopic examination no abnormalities were noted and endobronchial biopsies did not reveal hyphae.
Over the next 4 years his condition deteriorated and a CT scan showed the left upper lobe cavity had increased to 40cm2. Itraconazole 400mg daily was prescribed. There was some clinical improvement on itraconazole but patient eventually deteriorated with breathlessness and with significant weight loss.