Scedosporium apiospermum is a saprophytic fungus which is isolated worldwide in soil,
fertilizers, polluted water, rotten vegetables, and other natural environments. It is the cause of
mycetoma, a subcutaneous
infection, characterized by granule formation. It may also cause severe local or diffuse
infections in immunosuppressive patients. S.apiospermum-induced
arthritis,
endocarditis,
keratitis,
scleritis,
endophthalmitis,
meningitis,
osteomyelitis,
otomycosis,
onychomycosis, chronic
prostatitis,
peritonitis,
esophagitis, renal
infection, and hepatosplenic
abscess have been previously reported in the literature. Possible risk factors of fungal
keratitis, one of the major causes of
fungal ocular infection, include ocular injury, long-term
therapy with topical or systemic
steroids,
immunosuppressive agents, and underlying diseases such as pre-existing corneal surface abnormality and
diabetes mellitus, and wearing
contact lenses. We paid great attention to the case report presented by Kalkan Akçay E et al. titled "Fungal
keratitis caused by Scedosporium apiospermum: first report from Turkey", which was published in the October 2013 issue of Bulletin of Microbiology [Mikrobiyol Bul 2013; 47(4): 727-33]. Although it is deemed as the first case report of S.apiospermum-related fungal
keratitis in Turkey, there were several previous case reports of
ocular infections associated with this type of fungus in Turkey, including those of Yucel A titled "An eye mycosis caused by Scedosporium apiospermum (Monosporium apiospermum)" published in 1989, Kiratli et al. titled "Scedosporium apiospermum
chorioretinitis" in 2001, Saracli et al. titled "Scedosporium apiospermum
keratitis treated with
itraconazole" in 2003 and Erdem et al. titled "Clinical follow up of a keratomycosis case with total corneal melting" in 2005. In conclusion, it should be highlighted that the report of Kalkan Akcay et al. is not the first case report of Scedosporium apiospermum-related fungal
keratitis in Turkey. We believe, hence, that correction of this misinformation would be beneficial for further studies.