Histoplasmosis is a very rare disease in non-endemic areas. It is a granulomatous disease caused by a saprophytic dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. In immunocompromised individuals, it may cause a progressive and potentially fatal disseminated disease. Isolated cutaneous histoplasmosis is rare in renal transplant recipients. We report a case of a 45-year-old male who presented with skin lesions 4 years after renal transplantation. Histopathological examination of biopsy taken from the skin lesions showed intracellular budding yeast cells and was confirmed by culture of the biopsy sample. The patient was treated with Itraconazole and responded well with disappearance of all skin lesions.
Cuellar-Rodriguez J, Avery RK, Lard M, Budev M, Gordon SM, Shrestha NK, et al. Histoplasmosis in solid organ transplant recipients: 10 years of experience at a large transplant center in an endemic area. Clin Infect Dis 2009;49:710-6.
Jha V, Sree Krishna V, Varma N, Varma S, Chakrabarti A, Kohli HS, et al. Disseminated histoplasmosis 19 years after renal transplantation. Clin Nephrol 1999;51:373-8.
Rekha A, Kindo AJ, Sounderarajan P, Ravi A. Infection with Histoplasma capsulatum in a renal transplant recipient. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl 2010;21:1115-7.
Gugnani HC. Histoplasmosis in Africa: A review. Indian J Chest Dis Allied Sci 2000;42:271-7.
Gopalakrishnan R, Nambi PS, Ramasubramanian V, Abdul Ghafur K, Parameswaran A. Histoplasmosis in India: Truly uncommon or uncommonly recognised? J Assoc Physicians India 2012;60:25-8.
Lobo V, Joshi A, Khatavkar P, Kale MK. Pulmonary histoplasmosis in a renal allograft recipient. Indian J Nephrol 2014;24:120-3.
Rathod G, Goyal R, Bhimani RK, Agarwal S, Patel R. Primary cutaneous histoplasmosis in 56 years old male - A rare case report. Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci 2014;3:420-6.
Chawla A, Chawla K, Thomas J. Genitourinary histoplasmosis in post-renal transplant patient: Diagnostic dilemma. Indian J Urol 2012;28:359-61.
Limaye AP, Connolly PA, Sagar M, Fritsche TR, Cookson BT, Wheat LJ, et al. Transmission of Histoplasma capsulatum by organ transplantation. N Engl J Med 2000;343:1163-6.
Wong SY, Allen DM. Transmission of Histoplasma capsulatum via cadaveric renal transplantation: Case report. Clin Infect Dis 1992;14:232-4.
