During a routine examination of urine of 75 yrs old man plenty of rod shaped organisms of almost uniform structure seen. Apparently these appears to be candida species. But we didn't find any yeast like structure rather all are rod shaped. Few red cell and pus cell also seen under microscope. Are these organisms (fungus) other candida?
They are possibly arthrospores, which are rod shaped forms of moulds/ yeast cells. You may be dealing with a Geotrichum/ Trichosporon infection or as with a lot of yeasts, it may be contamination, specially if the urine sample has been left to stand outside in warm temperatures for a long time (> 2 hours) before processing.
Thank you, Michael
Urine sample was a fresh specimen. It simulates with Trichosporon. Benign funguria due to Trichosporon may be observed in renal transplant patients. (http://www.doctorfungus.org/Thefungi/trichosporon.php). But this patient was not a case of renal transplant.
Could you check the diabetic status of the patient and if the patient is a female, whether she has vaginal candidiasis which may lead to contamination of the urine sample. Lastly please check the pus cell count in the urine. If the pus cell count is significant, rule out bacterial infection through a culture. If the culture is negative, you are probably dealing with a contaminated/improperly collected sample, in which case, please repeat the test. You may get a different picture. The idea is to avoid unnecessary anti-fungals.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Michael.
Thank you, Michael again
Patient is a male seeking advice from a urologist in our center. I think chance of contamination is very poor. However at this time, patient is not available now. When he will be available we will try to follow your advice. Regards
These are elongated yeast cells suggestive of infection with Trichosporon/ geotrichum spp. as has been mentioned by Michael Mawlong. However, for definitive identification culture is a must. Isolation of the same species on more than two occasions is highly suggestive of infection/colonization. In such cases predisposing factors need to be looked for.
Regards.
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