Management of Disseminated Rhinosporidiosis: Experience From a Single Tertiary Institution

Kalaiarasi Raja; Saranya Thangavel; Akshat Kushwaha; Bheemanathi Hanuman Srinivas; Rakhee Kar; Arun Alexander; Lokesh Kumar Penubarthi; Sunil Kumar Saxena

doi:10.4274/tao.2023.2022-9-5

Management of Disseminated Rhinosporidiosis: Experience From a Single Tertiary Institution

Turk Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2024 Oct 23;62(2):66-71. doi: 10.4274/tao.2023.2022-9-5.

Authors

Kalaiarasi Raja¹, Saranya Thangavel², Akshat Kushwaha¹, Bheemanathi Hanuman Srinivas³, Rakhee Kar³, Arun Alexander¹, Lokesh Kumar Penubarthi¹, Sunil Kumar Saxena¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, India.
² Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences, Pondicherry, India.
³ Department of Pathology, Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, India.

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to present a series of patients with disseminated rhinosporidosis with diagnostic and therapeutic features.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary health care centre in South India from 2007 to 2020 with disseminated rhinosporidiosis. Twelve patients with multiple sites of involvement like the nose, nasopharynx, oropharynx, larynx, lacrimal sac and skin were included in the study. All patients underwent surgical excision, followed by peroral dapsone for one year.

Results: The age group was around 30-55 years, with male predominance (11:1). Pond bathing history was present in 50% (n=6). The most common site of lesion was the nose (100%), oropharynx (83.3%), skin (75%), larynx (50%) and less commonly, nasopharynx (41.6%) and lacrimal sac (25%). One patient underwent surgery four times (8.3%), followed by thrice and twice by five (41.6%) and six (50%) patients, respectively. On two years of follow-up, two patients (16.6%) had a recurrence in the nose and larynx whereas eight patients (66.6%) had no recurrence and two patients (16.6%) were lost to follow-up.

Conclusion: This original article highlights the rare occurrence of disseminated rhinosporidiosis, the possibility of which should be kept in mind, mainly when two or more sites are involved. The most significant number of disseminated rhinosporidiosis cases in the literature is reported here. Dissemination with the cutaneous and multisite disease is rarely reported and poses difficulty in management. Early diagnosis and intervention prevent the dissemination of spores into various parts of the body.

Keywords: Rhinosporidiosis; cutaneous manifestations; disease management; disseminated infections; nasopharyngeal diseases; otolaryngology; tertiary care centers.