Acanthamoeba: a rare primary cause of rhinosinusitis

Parasitic infections, especially Acanthamoeba, are rarely implicated as a specific cause of rhinosinusitis. It is a fatal disease found in the immunocompromised population, in particular in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Less than 10 cases of Acanthamebic rhinosinusitis have been reported in the literature, and only 1 has survived. This case report presents an Acanthamebic infection misdiagnosed as a squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal septum on a presumptive healthy, immunocompetent 35-year-old woman. She was later diagnosed with AIDS (AIDS) along with disseminated Acanthamoebiasis and became the second reported case surviving this deadly illness. This case report also discusses the difficulty in diagnosing this rare parasite, the pathogenesis, and the multidisciplinary treatment required to control and manage this uniformly fatal disease.