# Incidental detection of Cladosporium in cytology

## TL;DR

This paper reports a case where a fungal organism, Cladosporium, was incidentally detected in a patient's cytology sample.

## Contribution

The novelty lies in highlighting the incidental detection of Cladosporium using FNAC and ROSE in a clinical setting.

## Key findings

- Cladosporium sps. was detected in a patient with elbow joint swellings via cytology.
- FNAC combined with ROSE proved effective for rapid fungal detection.
- Incidental fungal detection in cytology is a notable clinical challenge.

## Abstract

Fungal infection incidental detection is a common encounter in cytopathology practices. Detection of the fungal organisms and awareness of the morphological features are challenges for the cytopathologist.

We report a case of incidental detection of a fungal organism in a 67-year-old male patient with complaints of bilateral elbow joint swellings. Cytology was done and showed a fungal organism (Cladosporium sps.).

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) along with Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) is a rapid, minimally invasive technique used for the diagnosis and detection of various fungi / parasites leading to early and definitive treatment.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13000-024-01469-2.