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A Case of Topical Ofloxacin-Induced Otomycosis and Literature Review

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Abstract

The prevalence of fungal otitis externa, or otomycosis, has been increasing in recent decades. Fungi may act as primary pathogens in this condition, or they may occur as secondary infections after prolonged ototopical treatment with antibiotics, which alters the flora of the external auditory canal (EAC) and enables overgrowth of its fungal inhabitants. We report here a case of otomycosis by Candida parapsilosis, Malassezia obtusa, and Malassezia furfur as a secondary infection following prolonged otic ofloxacin treatment. To the best of our knowledge, although isolation of C. parapsilosis and M. furfur from the EAC is not uncommon, the recovery of M. obtusa has not yet been reported. We also conducted a literature review of the searchable data on PubMed concerning the isolation of Malassezia species from the human EAC.

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Funding

This work was supported in part by the Emerging/Re-emerging Infectious Disease Project of the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, AMED (JP20fk108094).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Medical Mycology and Space Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan

    Mohamed Mahdi Alshahni & Koichi Makimura

  2. Department of AMR Mycosis Control Research in the Environment of Treatment and Education for Physically and Mentally Handicapped Persons, School of Medicine, Teikyo University, 2-11-1 Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan

    Mohamed Mahdi Alshahni & Koichi Makimura

  3. Teikyo University Institute of Medical Mycology, Tokyo, Japan

    Rima Zakzuk Alshahni, Takashi Tamura, Chiaki Yamanishi & Koichi Makimura

  4. Department of Sports and Medical Science, Faculty of Medical Technology, Teikyo University, Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan

    Ryuichi Fujisaki

  5. Department of Otolaryngology, Teikyo University Hospital, Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuya Shimizu

Authors
  1. Mohamed Mahdi Alshahni
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  2. Rima Zakzuk Alshahni
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  3. Ryuichi Fujisaki
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  4. Takashi Tamura
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  5. Yuya Shimizu
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  6. Chiaki Yamanishi
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  7. Koichi Makimura
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Correspondence to Koichi Makimura.

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AMR Mycosis Control Research in the Environment of Treatment and Education for Physically and Mentally Handicapped Persons is an endowed department supported with an unrestricted grant from the Social Welfare Corporation Hirakata Ryoikuen.

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Alshahni, M.M., Alshahni, R.Z., Fujisaki, R. et al. A Case of Topical Ofloxacin-Induced Otomycosis and Literature Review. Mycopathologia 186, 871–876 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-021-00581-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-021-00581-x

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