Histoplasmosis tenosynovitis of the forearm and wrist: imaging, surgical and pathologic findings.

Abstract

Histoplasmosis is a disease endemic to several parts of the world, including South America. It progresses in a mostly asymptomatic and self-limiting manner but has the potential to cause disseminated pulmonary infection, especially in immunocompromised patients. Rare reports from the literature describe musculoskeletal manifestations related to the two varieties of the pathogen that cause histoplasmosis, namely, the capsulatum or duboissi variety. In this report, we describe the case of a previously healthy, middle-aged man, with slowly progressing pain in the right forearm, wrist, and fingers, diagnosed with a case of pathologically confirmed histoplasmosis tenosynovitis. We also describe the imaging, surgical, and histological findings and discuss the differential diagnoses for tenosynovitis, in case of atypical infections.