A farm worker from rural India presents with a pink, lobulated, pedunculated mass arising from the nasal septum that bleeds profusely on touch and resembles a strawberry. Histology shows thick-walled sporangia filled with endospores. The causative agent is:

• A Rhinosporidium seeberi ✓
• B Rhizopus arrhizus
• C Aspergillus fumigatus
• D Blastomyces dermatitidis

Explanation

Rhinosporidiosis is caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi, now classified as an aquatic protistan parasite rather than a true fungus. It presents as a vascular, polypoidal, strawberry-like mass that bleeds easily on contact, commonly on the septum or inferior turbinate, and is endemic in parts of India, especially among people bathing in stagnant ponds. Treatment is wide surgical excision with cauterisation of the base to prevent recurrence. Rhizopus causes invasive mucormycosis, and Aspergillus produces fungal balls or allergic mucin rather than this lesion.

Reference: Dhingra's Diseases of Ear, Nose and Throat, 8th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.