Fungal Infection Prevalence among Patients with Chronic Wounds in Owerri Metropolis

A total of 120 wound swabs were submitted by patients attending various hospitals in the South East Zone of the Nigerian metropolis of Owerri. The samples were taken from infected wounds that were left untreated for more than a month. The patients were between the ages of 16 and 72. 51 women and 69 men were present. Although none of the subjects got antifungal medication, they all used antibiotics in some capacity. The swabs were cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) with Chloramphenicol and Brain Heart Infusion Agar (BHI) and incubated at 25°C for up to 21 days. Negative cultures were removed after 28 days. Positive cultures were identified based on their growth rate, colony morphology, and microscopic morphology. A tease mount was made on each mold isolation to help with identification. A germ tube test was used to identify Candida albicans, and a moist preparation was used to identify yeast isolates.

Of the 11 individuals, 3 (27.3%) had Zygomycetes isolates, of which 2 (18%) were Rhizopus and 1 (9.1%) was Mucor. 7 of the individuals (63.7%), of whom 3 (27.3%) were Candida tropicalis and 4 (36.4%) were Candida albicans, had isolated Candida species. Trichophyton rubrum isolate was found in 1 (9.1%) of the subjects. The statistical analysis showed no statistically significant differences between the male and female groups or the proportion of isolates found. In spite of this, there was a significant difference between the groups with and without isolates (p.001), with the difference favoring the group without isolates. The number of isolates found and the various kinds of wounds showed no discernible difference either. There was no obvious difference between the different age groups and the proportion of isolates found, nor between the different institutions that provide wound dressing and the isolates found. The high rate of fungus-related wound infections found in the study and the absence of antifungal therapy in wound care underscores the need to increase public awareness of fungus-related wound infections and incorporate antifungal therapy into the management of chronic wounds.