Tintelnotia destructans, the Rare Opportunist of a Behçet's Disease Patient

TL;DR

A rare fungal infection caused by Tintelnotia destructans is reported in a Behçet's disease patient on immunosuppressant therapy.

Contribution

This is the first reported case of Tintelnotia destructans causing an ocular abscess in a Behçet's disease patient.

Findings

Tintelnotia destructans caused an ocular abscess in a 40-year-old man with Behçet's disease.

The infection was refractory to standard antifungal therapy and highlights the risk of rare opportunistic infections in immunosuppressed patients.

Abstract

Behçet's disease is a systemic vasculitis characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers that can have ophthalmologic, cutaneous, neurologic, vascular, and thromboembolic manifestations. Treatment usually involves immunosuppressant medication, which leads to an increased risk of opportunistic infections. Only recently identified, Tintelnotia
destructans is a rare fungus that can cause eye and nail infections in humans, usually refractory to standard antifungal therapy. Ocular infections are most commonly associated with ocular trauma or the use of contact lenses and may cause permanent damage without adequate treatment. We present a case of a 40-year-old man with Behçet's disease, treated with adalimumab, who developed an ocular abscess due to Tintelnotia destructans. This clinical case serves the purpose of alerting for an opportunistic infection caused by a newly described and rare microorganism, which is hard to identify.

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