Sporotrichosis differential diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Alison Leibowitz [2]

As sporotrichosis manifests in a variety of clinical forms, differentiation must be established in accordance with the particular subtype. Forms of cutaneous sporotrichosis must be differentiated from other diseases that cause lesions, such as cutaneous leishmaniasis and mycobacteriosis, while the various forms of extracutaneous sporotrichosis must be differentiated from other diseases with similar clinical manifestations. For example, pulmonary sporotrichosis must be differentiated from other diseases that attack the lungs, such as coccidioidomycosis and histoplasmosis, whereas osteoarticular sporotrichosis must be distinguished from diseases that affect the bones and joints, such as chronic bacterial osteomyelitis.

Sporotrichosis manifests through a broad range of clinical symptoms shared with multiple different diseases, causing misdiagnosis to be common.^[1] Sporotrichosis must be differentiated from:

• Atypical mycobacteriosis
• Bacterial and fungal pneumonia
• Blastomycosis
• Candidiasis
• Chromoblastomycosis
• Chronic bacterial osteomyelitis
• Coccidioidomycosis    
• Cutaneous leishmaniasis^[2]
• Cutaneous tuberculosis
• Erythema nodosum
• Foreign body granulomas
• Histoplasmosis
• Leishmaniasis
• Leprosy
• Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex infection^[3]    
• Mycobacterium marinum
• Nocardiosis
• Paracoccidioidomycosis
• Pinta
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sarcoidosis
• Staphylococcal infections
• Syphilis
• Tuberculosis
• Tularemia
• Yaws^[1]