Ocular and cutaneous infection due to Curvularia pseudobrachyspora in an immunosuppressed dog: Case report and in vitro antimycotic susceptibilities

A 3-year-old male Border Collie diagnosed with immune-mediated dermatopathy, managed with tapering prednisolone and cyclosporine, developed rapidly progressive ocular signs and additional cutaneous lesions. Histopathology, mycological culture, polymerase chain reaction and sequencing confirmed intraocular and cutaneous infection due to Curvularia pseudobrachyspora and nasal squamous cell carcinoma. Upon confirmation of cutaneous infection, systemic antifungal therapy was initiated, but the clinical signs worsened and the patient died. Given the lack of guidelines for treatment of C. pseudobrachyspora, this patient's isolates were tested, and the minimum concentration and minimum effective concentration were obtained for selected antifungal drugs commonly used in veterinary medicine and compared to common filamentous and yeast fungal infections in dogs to provide general guidance into the treatment of this fungal species. Commonly utilised antifungal treatments used for common Aspergillus infections may prove ineffective against other filamentous fungi. Therefore, in the absence of standardised guidelines, each isolate should be assessed for appropriate treatment options.