Natthapong Suthammopasut

Disseminated Sporotrichosis Masquerading as Tuberculosis in a Patient Without Overt Immunodeficiency- Challenges in Tuberculosis-Endemic Area.

Sporotrichosis is a mycosis with multitudinous clinical manifestation based on varying factors. We report a 78-year-old man who came to an out-patient clinic for progressive ulcerative cutaneous lesions for 6 months with concurrent pulmonary symptoms and osteomyelitis. Initial investigations were negative for infectious organisms and therapeutic trial of standard anti-tuberculous regimen failed to improve clinical symptoms. Subsequent fungal culture from the ulcerative skin showed dark colonies of Sporothrix schenckii complex. A review of sporotrichosis cases mimicking tuberculosis is provided to demonstrate diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, especially when tuberculosis is endemic.