Aims:  The in vitro activity of ciclopirox olamine was evaluated against Cryptococcus spp. obtained from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of immunocompromised patients. Methods and Results:  The antifungal activity of ciclopirox olamine was tested against Cryptococcus spp. obtained from the CSF of immunocompromised patients, using amphotericin B and fluconazole as controls. The minimal inhibitory concentration was determined following the microdilution method indicated by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The minimal fungicide concentration was determined by the absence of growth on Sabouraud dextrose agar. The data obtained showed that antifungal activity of ciclopirox olamine ranged from 0·25 to 1 μg ml−1. Conclusions:  This paper underscores the importance of the antifungal potential of ciclopirox olamine against Cryptococcus spp. as an alternative treatment against systemic cryptococosis. In vivo experiments are essential for future medical use. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This was the first time that ciclopirox olamine was tested against Cryptococcus spp. using the reference method. The antifungal activity of this drug against this species suggests an applicable potential for systemic cryptococcosis therapy.

Staphylococcus spp. have become important human pathogens in recent decades due to the selection of resistant bacteria and the spread of their resistance genes in the environment. This study aimed to evaluate the resistance of Staphylococcus spp. obtained from sewage in the city of Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. The isolates were tested for susceptibility to antimicrobials using the Kirby-Bauer method for ampicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, oxacillin, cefoxitin, linezolid, penicillin, rifampicin, sulfazotrim, tetracycline and vancomycin. Among the strains isolated from sewage, the greatest resistance was observed for penicillin and oxacillin, with 100% of isolates resistant to these antibiotics. Some antibiotics had resistant and sensitive strains (ampicillin, clindamycin, erythromycin, cefoxitin, azithromycin). Staphylococcus spp. were identified as sensitive to ciprofloxacin chloramphenicol gentamicin linezolid sulfazotrim tetracycline, vancomycin, with no strain resistant to these antibiotics.

Trichosporon species are usually opportunistic pathogens. Here, we present a case of esophagitis caused by T. inkin in a 54-year-old woman with pulmonary cancer and severe neutropenia in whom the susceptibility profile of the isolate against azoles and polyenes was verified. The patient was diagnosed with esophagitis grade I of Wilcox, presenting scattered whitish plaques and exudates in upper two-thirds of the esophageal mucosa. Antifungal therapy involving oral fluconazole (150 mg/day for 14 days) was ineffective. In vitro, the isolate showed no resistance to this azole and sensitivity to amphotericin B. Since T. inkin is of growing importance as an agent of invasive infections in immunocompromised patients, we stress that the diagnosis of esophagitis by this species should be followed by an assessment of the therapeutic sensitivity of the strain involved.

The Mycobacterium genus has important pathogenic species, such as M. leprae and M. tuberculosis, with high incidence in the human population. The number of bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics is steadily increasing, and in particular no new antibiotics have been developed for Mycobacterium. Mycobacteriophages have been shown to be viable alternatives, mainly to counteract antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A new mycobacteriophage (Myms-1) was isolated from sewage in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, with lytic activity against M. smegmatis. Morphological analysis of the Mysm-1 phage shows that it probably belongs to the genus Fromanvirus (family Siphoviridae). It has an icosahedral head with approximate diameter of 50 nm and a long non-contractile tail with approximate length of 200 nm. M. smegmatis is a fast-growing mycobacterium found in the environment that is normally non-pathogenic, so it is a promising bacterium for initial tests of this genus.

This communication reports the second known case of oral phaeohyphomycosis in a patient with squamocellular carcinoma of the lip. The patient, an 82-year-old black woman, a former smoker (for more than 30 years), suffering from an ulcerous vegetative lesion in the middle third of the lower lip for approximately 12 months. The result of the histopathological analysis indicated carcinoma, with well-differentiated keratinized squamous cells and the presence of septate mycelial filaments. In the direct mycological examination, thick and dematiaceous septate mycelial filaments were observed. After the resection surgery, the patient did not need to use an antifungal drug to treat the phaeohyphomycosis, and no follow-up radiotherapy was needed to treat the squamocellular carcinoma. We stress that the presence of the squamocellular lesion of the lip was a possible contributing factor to the infection.