First case of endophthalmitis by Corynespora cassiicola

Corynespora cassiicola is an environmental phytopathogen implicated in various human infections and has been isolated from one case of keratitis. We report here the first case of endophthalmitis caused by Corynespora cassiicola in a 54-year-old diabetic patient, who developed diminished vision, redness, and watering in the right eye, six weeks after intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide for non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema. Direct microscopy of the vitreous tap revealed septate hyphae, and culture grew white mycelium that turned olive-grey to black within two days and was confirmed as C. cassiicola after sequencing of the ITS region of 28S rDNA. The patient was started on oral voriconazole 200 mg twice a day. The patient is on regular follow-up without recurrence. To our knowledge, this case represents the first case of endophthalmitis due to this fungus across the globe and the first case of C. cassiicola infection from India.