A 48-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for erythema, scaling and nodules covering his body for 1 month, which had gradually worsened. One month prior, erythema developed on the patient’s trunk and limbs with occasional itching, which gradually expanded and affected the whole body. He received no regular treatment at that time, except for intermittent topical humectant, which had no satisfactory effect. The patient simultaneously developed exophytic nodules on his lower extremities, which gradually grew, involving the trunk, upper limbs and scalp. Three days prior to the consult, the patient developed fever, accompanied by coughing and sticky white sputum. His highest body temperature was 39℃.
Physical examination showed moon face, and dermatological examination revealed diffuse edematous erythema (affected area ≥ 90%) accompanied by scales covering his body. Multiple disseminated, firm and dusky red to purple nodules and plaques were distributed over his scalp, trunk, arms and lower extremities, with diameters of 1–2 cm, presenting with crusts and erosions. The fingernails and toenails were thickened, dystrophic and showed yellowish discoloration(Fig. 1a–h). The rest of the physical examination was unremarkable.
The patient had complicated previous histories, including chronic onychomycosis (8 years ago) and tinea pedis (13 years ago), which had occasionally been treated with topical antifungals, and myasthenia gravis, which was treated with 14–32 mg systemic prednisolone daily for 10 years after a thymectomy, along with 3 mg tacrolimus once daily for the preceding 2 months. He had a history of eczema for 5 years and was treated intermittently with topical hormones. His history also included treatment for adult-onset diabetes mellitus with 2-mg repaglinide tablets three times daily. The patient was preliminarily diagnosed with erythroderma and was hospitalized.
Serologic testing was performed on admission and showed total serum protein 52.9 g/L (normal 65.0–85.0 g/L), albumin 24.6 g/L (normal 40.0–55.0 g/L), IgE 3010.00 IU/mL (normal 100.0 IU/mL), blood glucose 13.56 mmol/L (normal 3.9–6.1 mmol/L), glycosylated hemoglobin 10.20% (normal 4.27–6.07%), urine glucose 3+, erythrocyte sedimentation rate 37 mm/1 h (normal 0–15 mm/1 h), CD3 + T cell 89.20% (normal 54.02–80.04%), CD19 + B cell 2.12% (normal 5.52–19.47%), CD3-CD56 + NK cell 7.07% (normal 9.02–34.57%), CD3 + CD56 + NK T cell 0.76% (normal 1.63–16.87%), CD8 + CD38 + activated T cells 21.90% (normal 3.40–18.21%), CD3 + T-cell count 557.6/µL (normal 723.5–1755.5/µL), CD8 + T-cell count 185.6/µL (normal 236.3–846.9/µL), CD19 + B cell count 13.3/µL (normal 86.6–388.1/µL), and CD3-CD56 + NK cell count 44.2/µL (normal 130.8–692.5/µL). Routine blood tests, kidney function, immunoglobulins, rheumatoid factor, and antinuclear antibody series were normal; HIV and rapid plasma reagin tests were negative. Chest computed tomography showed pneumonia. Sputum culturing revealed a moderate amount of Candida albicans.
Two skin biopsies collected from different lesions (a nodule on the patient’s right upper arm and an erythema on his left forearm) were each divided into two parts; one was fixed, routinely processed, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) for routine histology; the other was used for fungal culturing. Histological examination of the erythema showed hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the epidermis, infectious granuloma of the dermis and dense inflammatory infiltrate, including epithelioid cells, lymphocytes, plasma cells, neutrophils and scattered multinucleated giant cells (Fig. 2a, b). Histopathology of the nodule showed pseudoepitheliomatous epidermal hyperplasia, inflammatory granulomatous infiltration and dense inflammatory infiltration in the dermis. The infiltrating cells were the same as those of the erythema (Fig. 2c, d). PAS staining of both sections of the erythema and nodule revealed abundant thick septate hyphae and conidia, consistent with a fungal infection. The hyphae and conidia were found in both the stratum corneum and dermis of the erythema (Fig. 2e, f) but in only in the dermis of the nodule (Fig. 2g).
Using sterile scalpel blades, scrapings from the trunk, foot and nail clippings were separated into two parts each. One was fixed with 10% KOH for direct microscopic examination, which showed fungal hyphae (Fig. 3a); the other was used for fungal culturing, for which the scrapings and skin biopsy samples were collected as described above, inoculated directly onto Sabouraud glucose agar slants (BD Difco,Sparks, MD, USA ) and incubated at 28℃ for 1 week. All cultures showed single colonies, which were subcultured on potato dextrose agar plates (BD Difco, Sparks, MD, USA) for 1 week. The cultures yielded numerous small, white, fluffy (obverse) and creamy yellow (reverse) fungal colonies (Fig. 3b). The isolates were numbered as FHJU 19100101 (from the erythema) and FHJU 19100102 (from the nodule). Microscopic examination revealed both macroconidia and microconidia (Fig. 3c). Morphologic and microscopic characteristics suggested dermatophytes and were confirmed as Trichophyton rubrum via PCR and sequencing based on the internal transcribed spacer region gene (GenBank accession numbers: OM899647 for FHJU19100101 and OM899680 for FHJU19100102).
Based on these findings, the patient was diagnosed with dermatophyte-induced erythroderma and deeper dermal dermatophytosis. In addition to treatment for myasthenia gravis and diabetes, he was treated with 200 mg oral itraconazole twice daily and topical bifonazole cream once daily because direct examination (10% KOH) of the scrapings from the erythema and nail clippings showed fungal hyphae. Sputum culturing was performed because the patient exhibited coughing and expectoration. The patient's temperature returned to normal after 2 days of treatment. Four days later, when a moderate amount of Candida albicans was reported from the sputum culture, and PAS staining of the biopsy revealed hyphae and spores, the treatment was switched to 0.2 g intravenous voriconazole twice daily plus 250 mg oral terbinafine once daily. After 14 days of treatment, the sputum culture yielded no fungal growth, and the erythema partially subsided (Fig. 4a–c). The patient was then discharged and prescribed 200 mg itraconazole twice daily as his condition improved. However, he never returned to the clinic and was lost to follow-up.