Exophiala psychrophila: a new agent of chromoblastomycosis. Exophiala psychrophila

Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic cutaneous and subcutaneous mycosis, is caused by dematiaceous fungi, the genera most frequently implicated are Fonsecaea , Phialophora , Cladophialophora , Rhinocladiella and Exophiala . We report here a case of a 45-year-old female with warty plaque in her foot for twenty years. She had already been treated with itraconazole for three months with a mycological cure for the affected area. However, the lesion relapsed at site, so that a second cycle with itraconazole was given. Histopathological examination, direct microscopic examination and skin biopsy culture were performed as initial approach. A second skin biopsy culture was necessary to confirm the results found in the previous one. The isolate obtained by the biopsy culture was identified as Exophiala psychrophila, and for our knowledge this is the first case reported.