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Diagnosis of fusariosis in urine cytology
  1. Cheng-Chuan Su1,
  2. Hui-Jine Hsu2,
  3. Jiunn-Jong Wu3,
  4. Chien-Wen Chou4
  1. 1Department of Clinical Pathology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan
  2. 2Department of Pathology, Chi-Mei Foundation Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
  3. 3Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
  4. 4Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chi-Mei Foundation Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
  1. Correspondence to:
    Dr C-C Su
    Department of Clinical Pathology, Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, 2, Minsheng Road, Dalin Town, Chiayi County 622, Taiwan; sucpo{at}yahoo.com.tw

Abstract

Fusarium is a filamentous fungus widely distributed in plants and in the soil. Most species are more common at tropical and subtropical areas. Besides being a common contaminant and a well-known plant pathogen, Fusarium sp may cause various infections in humans. However, it has not yet been reported as being the pathogen of urinary tract infection. A 67-year-old woman had extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy for renal stones 7 and 6 years ago, respectively. She had had fever, chillness, urinary urgency and frequency for 6 days. Routine testing of urine showed numerous leucocytes. She was admitted under the impression of urinary tract infection. On admission, many spindle-shaped structures were found in the urine smears. This shows that Fusarium was identified. Fusarium may be the pathogen of the urinary tract infection, particularly when urolithiasis is present.

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Footnotes

  • Funding: This study was supported by grant DTCRD94(2)-08 from the Buddhist Dalin Tzu Chi General Hospital, Chiayi County, Taiwan. The present study was approved by the institutional review board of our hospital.

  • Competing interests: None.

  • Published Online First 30 June 2006