[Rhinoentomophthoramycoses. Report of 4 cases]

Four cases of rhynoentomophthoramycosis are reported from urban areas of the states of Bahia and Maranhão, Brazil. The lesions presented with infiltration, redness and heat of the skin of the nose and infraorbital areas and accompanying nasal stuffiness. In on case the infiltration also involved the lips and mandibular area causing severe facial deformity. Microscopically, granulomatous reactions with small abcesses, fibrosis and a dense infiltration of eosinophils were found. Hyphae were seen frequently, always associated with the Splendore phenomenon. Three cases were treated completely with iodine. The one case resistant to iodine was cured with prolonged administration of sulphona. In two cases, plastic surgery was performed for facial reconstruction and nasal-unblocking respectively. Including the cases presented here, only 8 cases of rhynoentomophthoramycosis have been reported in Brazil, but the authors believe that this pathology muta occur more frequently. The lack of knowledge of its clinico-pathological aspects may be responsible for the delay or lack of diagnosis of this entity which occurred in two of the cases reported here.