Aspergillus fumigatus keratitis with wreath pattern infiltrates

Purpose. To report a case of Aspergillus fumigatus keratitis with clinical features simulating Nocardia keratitis and to highlight the utility;of micr obiologic investigation in the successful management of infectious keratiti s. Method. Case report. Results. A 62-year-old man presented with complaint s of pain, redness, and watering of 10 days' duration in his right eye. Dir ect microscopic observation of smears of corneal scrapings revealed a funga l etiology. The patient was treated with 5% natamycin eye drops and 1% atro pine sulphate eye drops and was advised to visit the hospital for observati on. During his visit to the hospital on day 10 after medication, the eye de monstrated a wreath pattern corneal infiltrate that simulated Nocardia kera titis. The fungus grown from culture of corneal scraping was identified as A. fumigatus, Conclusion. This report highlights the significance of subjec ting corneal scrapings from suspected cases of infectious keratitis to micr obiologic evaluation and emphasizes the fact that a complete microbiologic work-up helps in establishing a definitive etiologic diagnosis and initiati ng specific antimicrobial therapy.