Identification of Candida and Geotrichum fungi colonized in the gastro-intestinal tract of patients with chronic urticarial

Introduction: Urticaria is a reaction pattern that represents cutaneous mast cell degranulation, with the condition being defined as chronic if lesions recur for longer than 6 weeks. Aims and Objectives: Considering the high incidence of chronic urticaria among the patients with colonization of yeasts in gastro-intestinal tract, we investigated all fungal colonization and invasion in the gastro-intestinal tract of cases involved hives. Our aim was identification of all isolates in the level of species. Methods: Our subjects included 200 cases with long time superficial lesions as Urticaria. Fresh stool sample from the cases with clinical symptoms were collected. A direct microscopic investigation performed for the detection of fungal growth in gastro-intestinal tract. The basic culture on sabouraud glucose agar used for confirming of the fungal detection. The Molecular methods and proteomic based MALDI-TOF system used for the identification of all fungal isolates. Results: The highest age range of our cases was 40-50 and included 25% of all. Women and men similarly involved (12 cases each). Our findings of microscopic investigation included budding cells in 13(54.2%) cases, blastospores 6(25%), arthrospores 3(12.5%) and pseudohypha 2(8.3%). Total of 24 fungal isolates, 7 (29.2%) cases of Geotrichum silvicola, 7 (29.2%) Candida albicans and 6(25%) Candida glabrata were the most frequent identified by MALDI-TOF system. Other yeast included C. Africana, C. tropicalis and C. glabrata one each. Only one unknown case by MALDI-TOF system recorded. Conclusion: A variable species of yeast fungi which are commensally live in human gastro-intestinal tract are potentially candidate of causing agent for chronic urticaria.