Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Corresponding author. Basidiobolomycosis is a rare fungal disease, lately appearing in the gastrointestinal system of pediatric patients. Their clinical presentation resembles that of lymphoma or granulomatous inflammations.
The most common symptoms were fever and abdominal pain. Further examination revealed an abdominal mass. Biopsy of the mass was the mainstay of diagnosis, with histological findings of typical filamentous fungal hyphae and zygospores, surrounded by eosinophils. Role of surgery was limited to establishing the diagnosis and dealing with complications. Antifungal medication was the cornerstone of treatment in all our patients. Three of our patients were exceptional with complications such as entero-cutaneal fistula, entero-enteric fistula and short bowel syndrome.
These complications have not been previously reported. We have discussed the challenges related to their management. The diagnosis of GIB in pediatric patients with abdominal mass, needs a high index of suspicion. We believe outcome depends on the severity of disease, involvement of surrounding tissues and presence of complications at the time of diagnosis.
Keywords: Basidiobolomycosis, Abdominal mass, Fungal infection, Fungal hyphae, Entero-cutaneal fistula, Entero-enteric fistula. Basidiobolomycosis in humans is a rare fungal disease caused by an organism called Basidiobolus Ranarum.
They are classified under the Entomophthorales, which are categorized as Zygomycetes [ 1 , 2 ]. It is known to inflict the subcutaneous tissue, in immune competent patients, although the Entomophthorales infections usually occur in immune-compromised patients [ [1] , [2] , [3] ]. This fungus was described in frogs more than years ago. In , it was first isolated in United States from decaying plants [ 1 , 2 ]. The first cutaneous disease in humans was detected in Indonesia in , which was transmitted through traumatic inoculation [ 1 , 2 ].
