Volume 207 - Issue 5
Corynebacterium minutissimum infection: erythrasma
Authors: Deshan F Sebaratnam and Stephen Lee
Med J Aust 2017; 207 (5): 189. || doi: 10.5694/mja16.01081
Published online: 4 September 2017
Published online: 4 September 2017
A 68-year-old man presented with a 4-month history of mildly pruritic, well circumscribed, red-brown plaques with overlying scale affecting the axillary and inguinal regions
A 68-year-old man presented with a 4-month history of mildly pruritic, well circumscribed, red-brown plaques with overlying scale affecting the axillary and inguinal regions (Figure, A). Wood lamp examination showed vivid coral pink fluorescence (Figure, B) suggestive of erythrasma. Corynebacterium minutissimum infection was confirmed through bacterial culture.
C. minutissimum is a gram-positive rod with a characteristic fluorescence attributable to synthesis of coproporphyrin III. General measures include optimising weight and glycaemic control where indicated. Treatment options include topical clindamycin, fusidic acid, azole antifungals or a 2-week course of a systemic macrolide or tetracycline antibiotic for generalised or recalcitrant cases.
Competing interests
No relevant disclosures.
Provenance: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.