Tumoral rhinosporidiosis in an adult Nigerian

Abstract

Background:  Rhinosporidiosis, caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi,  is a rare disease in Rivers State, Nigeria; it is probably of fungal origin. There is need to highlight the public and the medical community about this infectious disease which may be erroneously diagnosed and treated as neoplastic disease.
Aim: To report a case of nasal tumoral rhinosporidiosis in an adult Nigerian male.
Setting: Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Case report: A 44-year-old  adult Nigerian male residing in Lafia Nasarawa State of Nigeria for more than ten years, a yam trader in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, presented in a private clinic in Port Harcourt with a mass in the right nasal cavity for 5 years. He was examined clinically and treated as benign neoplastic lesion. Biopsy of the mass and histological examination with special histochemical staining, confirmed rhinosporidiosis.
Conclusion: Rhinosporidiosis is probably a fungal disease. It presents as a mass in mucous membrane of orifices that are usually misdiagnosed for neoplasm. Therefore, whenever an orificial mass is seen, rhinosporidiosis should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis.

Keywords: Rhinosporidiosis, Nasal tumour, Port Harcourt, Nigeria