A patient has a dry, scaly, erythematous penis. Skin scales stained with calcofluor white show fluorescent blue-white yeasts and a few pseudohyphae. What is the causative agent of this dermatophytic look-alike?
In Candida, scales stained with calcofluor white show fluorescent blue-white yeasts and a few pseudohyphae. Diagnosis of a yeast infection is done either microscopic examination or culture. For identification by light microscopy, a scraping or swab of the affected area is placed on a microscope slide. A single drop of 10%potassium hydroxide(KOH) solution is then added to the specimen. The KOH dissolves the skin cells, but leaves the Candida cells intact, permitting visualization of pseudohyphae and budding yeast cells typical of many Candida species. Dermatophytes (Epidermophyton,Trichophyton,Microsporum) are moulds and they show long branching filaments on microscopy
Candida
Epidermophyton
Trichophyton
Microsporum
Mycology