{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T09:53:42Z","timestamp":1784886822968,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,23]],"date-time":"2024-12-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1734912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>We report a rare case of fungal keratitis caused by <jats:italic>Neurospora<\/jats:italic>, a filamentous fungus that is widely distributed in soil and graminaceous plants.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Case presentation<\/jats:title><jats:p>A 40-year-old Mongoloid male patient came to our outpatient clinic with painful swelling of the left eye and redness, after being cut by a tree branch 1\u202fweek prior. After examination, the patient was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer of the left eye, and was given levofloxacin eye drops and levofloxacin ophthalmic gel. However, the patient did not respond to the treatment. After admission to the hospital, fungal mycelium was found in the corneal smear. To further identify the pathogen, a corneal scraping culture was used to extract fungal DNA and PCR amplification was performed using ITS universal primers, which was later sequenced and identified as <jats:italic>Neurospora<\/jats:italic>. We used fluconazole injections (0.2\u202fg\/100\u202fmL) as eye drops to treat the patient once every hour, and itraconazole (200\u202fmg) was administered orally once a day. After a few days, the patient\u2019s condition improved.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of fungal keratitis caused by <jats:italic>Neurospora<\/jats:italic> in China. In this case, conventional topical and systemic treatment resulted in a favorable outcome. In patients with suspected fungal keratitis, medical treatment should be started urgently, and the treatment plan should be adjusted according to the subsequent experimental results and the patient\u2019s condition.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2024.1496010","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,23]],"date-time":"2024-12-23T06:39:57Z","timestamp":1734935997000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Fungal keratitis caused by Neurospora: a case 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