Journal of Pathology and Translational Medicine

Original Article

Acid-Fastness of Histoplasma in Surgical Pathology Practice: Madhu Rajeshwari, Immaculata Xess, Mehar Chand Sharma, Deepali Jain; J Pathol Transl Med. 2017;51(5):482-487. Published online September 14, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2017.07.11

9,523 View
171 Download
10 Web of Science
9 Crossref

Background
Histoplasmosis (HP) is diagnosed by visualizing intracellular microorganisms in biopsy and/or culture. Periodic-acid Schiff (PAS) and Gomori methenamine silver (GMS) staining methods are routinely used for identification. The acid-fast property of Histoplasma was identified decades ago, but acid-fast staining has not been practiced in current surgical pathology. Awareness of the acid-fast property of Histoplasma, which is due to mycolic acid in the cell wall, is important in distinguishing Histoplasma from other infective microorganisms. Here, we examined acid-fastness in previously diagnosed cases of Histoplasma using the Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain and correlated those findings with other known fungal stains. Methods: All cases diagnosed as HP were retrieved and reviewed along with ZN staining and other fungal stains. We also stained cases diagnosed with Cryptococcus and Leishmania as controls for comparison. Results: A total of 54 patients ranging in age from 11 to 69 years were examined. The most common sites of infection were the skin, adrenal tissue, and respiratory tract. Of the total 43 tissue samples, 20 (46.5%) stained positive with the ZN stain. In viable cases, a significant proportion of microorganisms were positive while necrotic cases showed only rare ZN-positive yeasts. In comparison to PAS and GMS stains, there was a low burden of ZN-positive yeasts. Cryptococcus showed characteristic ZN staining and all cases of Leishmania were negative. Conclusions: Although the morphology of fungal organisms is the foundation of identification, surgical pathologists should be aware of the acid-fast property of fungi, particularly when there is the potential for confusion with other infective organisms.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Disseminated histoplasmosis in an HIV/AIDS transgender male‐to‐female with atypical and persistent GI manifestations
Aaron C Yee, Sarah Huang, Ranbir Singh, Dean Rizzi, Naureen Shama, Neil Khoury, Ilan S Weisberg
JGH Open.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Fungi that are medically relevant to humans and their prospect in a global warming scenario
José Ascención Martínez-Álvarez, Bernardo Franco, Naurú Idalia Vargas-Maya, Felipe Padilla-Vaca, Fátima Berenice Ramírez-Montiel
Academia Molecular Biology and Genomics.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Emerging Fungal Infections and Cutaneous Manifestations in Immunosuppressed Patients
Jeffrey Alex Varghese, Samantha Guhan, Lida Zheng
Current Dermatology Reports.2023; 12(2): 69. CrossRef
Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii: A KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa public sector perspective
Lerato Claudia Khathali, Gamalenkosi Bonginkosi Nhlonzi, Absalom Mwazha
Journal of Cutaneous Pathology.2022; 49(2): 139. CrossRef
Histologic features of colonic infections
Maria Westerhoff
Der Pathologe.2022; 43(1): 16. CrossRef
Challenge of Ziehl-Neelsen stain for Basidiobolomycosis diagnosis in Indonesia: A unique case report
Metta Octora, Arthur Pohan Kawilarang, Pepy Dwi Endraswari
Annals of Medicine and Surgery.2022; 74: 103278. CrossRef
Pulmonary Histoplasmosis Mimicking Metastatic Lung Cancer: A Case Report
Gion Ruegg, Stefan Zimmerli, Maria Trachsel, Sabina Berezowska, Swantje Engelbrecht, Yonas Martin, Martin Perrig
Diagnostics.2021; 11(2): 328. CrossRef
Cutaneous Histoplasmosis in HIV Seronegative Patients: A Clinicopathological Analysis
Arvind Ahuja, Minakshi Bhardwaj, Poojan Agarwal
Dermatology.2021; 237(6): 934. CrossRef
Challenges in the Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Infections in Immunocompromised Hosts
Spinello Antinori, Mario Corbellino, Carlo Parravicini
Current Fungal Infection Reports.2018; 12(1): 12. CrossRef

First
Prev
Page of 1
Next
Last

Search