Basidiobolomycosis: An Emerging Fungal Infection of the Gastrointestinal Tract in Adults

Abstract

Basidiobolomycosis is an unusual fungal infection known for dermatological manifestations that affect immunocompetent young adult and rarely involves the gastrointestinal tract, during the past decade many cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia with diagnosis of gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis, most of the reported cases were in children and majority came from southern region of Saudi Arabia and all were misdiagnosed initially as either IBD or granulomatous diseases or malignancy. GIB poses diagnostic difficulties due to nonspecific presentations and rarity and has been scarcely reported in medical literatures. GIB might be a life threatening infection. So, a high index of suspicion is warranted in any child or young adult with differential diagnosis of IBD, granulomatous disease and malignancy affecting GI tract especially those patients whom are residents in or came from southern region of Saudi Arabia. In this series which is the largest reported series in adult patient with GIB in this country, we describe 4 cases of GI basidiobolomycosis from southern Region of Saudi Arabia.