the strange case of sherlock holmes and arthur conan doyle

These obstacles, however, do not occur in PCR. These neutralise the inhibitor lactoferrin contained in breast milk. If at all, fungi cultures are only successful if additives such as iron sulphate are added. This, however, could also have been caused by bacterial germs. Characteristic symptoms were the white spot on the nipple and the blister-like secretion resulting from the CO 2 production of the pathogen. Our particular patient suffered from a sharp shooting pain in the breast that expanded radially.

albicans using the PCR-based EUROArray Dermatomycosis within 48 hours (right). 2: Infected breast with breast milk (left), Detection of C. albicans can be found on the breast of 6.5% of new mothers as soon as day 3 after starting breastfeeding.įig. It is also becoming more of an issue from the point of infectiology due to the growing popularity of breast-feeding. This is particularly critical, as such a severe infection must always be treated systemically. Since cultivation of the pathogen from breast milk is hardly ever achieved, it is one of the most underdiagnosed types of mycosis. rubrum syndrome.Ĭandida mastitis also is a particularly difficult-to-diagnose mycosis. Subsequent clinical presentation of the patient confirmed our suspicion: It was indeed a T. PCR analysis based on the paraffin block gave T. The clinical picture was Tinea corporis generalisata, which had already persisted for decades and was resistant to terbafine therapy. The provided PAS specimen was wonderfully positive (see title image), but the pathogen was unidentifiable on the species level, which is where histology reaches its limits. In the first one, we needed to find out whether it would be possible to identify a pathogen in a paraffin block. I was particularly impressed by two “criminal” cases.įig. brevicaulis in a tiny bottle of nail tincture. albicans on a hormone spiral preserved in formaldehyde or the detection of S. Nothing was impossible apparently any riddle could be solved, be it onychomycosis, Tinea capitis under therapy, a tricky germ in an interlaboratory assessment scheme, C. After introducing PCR testing in our practice laboratory, I felt a bit like Sherlock Holmes myself, like a master detective able to quickly and elegantly solve even the most difficult case. Rowling (“Harry Potter” and Robert Louis Stevenson (“The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”) to write works of world literature, and the physician Arthur Conan Doyle to create the character of Sherlock Holmes. The marvellous city of Edinburgh inspired several novelists such as Joanne K. Guest contribution: Article series on the subject of state-of-the-art mycology in dermatology,īy Prof Hans-Jürgen Tietz, Director of the Institute of Fungal Diseases in Berlin, Germany

The strange case of sherlock holmes and arthur conan doyle