Candida parapsilosis: A rare cause of arthritis and its successful treatment with oral fluconazole

Abstract

Fungal arthritis is a rare condition, often missed and underreported. Among all Candida species, Candida parapsilosis is a rare cause. A 66-year-old male with a history of arthritis on and off for the past 3 years and treated symptomatically presented with acute pain and swelling of the left knee joint for 1 week. Synovial fluid examination revealed yeast-like structures and fungal culture showed growth of Candida spp. VITEK 2 compact identified it as Candida famata but matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry assay confirmed it as C. parapsilosis. This is a rare case of nonalbicans candida arthritis, especially in this part of the country.