Monday, July 23, 2018

Case of the Week 503

This week's case is a fun identification from Florida Fan. A podiatrist submitted a toe nail sample from an elderly female for fungal smear and culture. Fungus wasn't seen using KOH Calcofluor staining, but instead something else was noted:


Identification? And any thought on what it's doing on a toe?

5 comments:

William Sears said...

demodex mite. usually nonpathogenic.

Perhaps patient has limited use of hands and uses feet to scratch eyebrows/face?

Idzi P. said...

Demodex folliculorum mite.
Practically every adult has them, so you should never feel alone again!
Maybe the mite is on a holiday trip to the south?

Idzi P. said...

Nice pictures!

Blaine A. Mathison said...

Demodex folliculorum, nonpathogenic. It's presence in the toe is probably because the patient has some underlying condition which favors propagation of the mites. The mites themselves do not cause any skin conditions, but they have been (most probably) erroneously implicated in causing conditions like rosacea, etc. More likely, it's the skin condition which creates a favorable environment for the mite!

Jessica Oegren said...

Nice pictures of demodex ��