The saccular enlargement of the elbow with associated pain suggested a typical olecranon bursitis in a 68-year old man. Roentgenographic studies, however, showed a picture of classic gout. The definitive diagnosis was that of arthropathy caused by the Sporotrichum schenckii.
Mimicry of fungal infection of other chronic bone and joint diseases may easily result in a tardy diagnosis with subsequent needless surgery or permanent damage of the joint and its functions.
Patient Summary
The patient, a 68-year-old white man was admitted in January 1970 because of a painful right elbow and general malaise. An avid gardener during his active years, he used moderate amounts of sphagnum moss in his avocation and drank moderate amounts of alcohol. In 1958 he had a left pneumonectomy for bronchogenic carcinoma and in 1964 a partial gastrectomy for a benign gastric ulcer. The present illness began almost three years before admission when a diagnosis of