The usefulness of a smear preparation in the diagnosis of the candida abscess

Abstract

Candida, one of yeast-like fungi, is a saprophyte of the oral cavity and the vagina, and acting opportunistically, it often produces abscesses in the internal organs. In this report of two cases of disseminated internal candidiasis, a smear was found to be more useful for the detection of the Candida itself, than was a histology preparation. Case 1 was a recurrent case of acute myeloid leukemia. Candida abscesses were found in the lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen, and a Candida verruca was found in the left ventricle on autopsy. Case 2 was observed at the autopsy of a patient after acute myocardial infarction. Candida abscesses were found in the kidneys and in the anterior wall of the left ventricle. In both of these cases, Candida could not be clearly observed in histology preparations, because of the dense proliferation of the Candda itself and/or infiltration by inflammatory cells. However, in the smear, the characteristic pseudohyphae and blastoconidia of Candida were easily observed. Each smear, made from fresh and formalin-fixed abscess material, demonstrates the same fungal view ; a smear should be made even after formalin-fixation of the abscess.