Maduromycosis

maduromycosis [¦maj·ə·rō‚mī′kō·səs]

(medicine)

mycetoma

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Maduromycosis 

(Madura foot, mycetoma), a chronic fungal disease (mycosis) affecting chiefly the feet and considerably more rarely other parts of the body. Gill of Madura (India) recognized the disease as a separate nosological unit (hence the name) in 1842. Maduromycosis is observed most often in tropical countries but is also found in Western Europe, and a few cases have been reported in the USSR. Infection usually occurs through a wound. At first reddish violet nodules of various sizes appear; subsequently they soften and open to the exterior through fistulas, from which pus containing yellow, black, and red granules is discharged. Later the foot becomes severely de-formed owing to destructive and reactive changes in the bone tissue. The disease may continue for dozens of years.

Treatment includes surgical excision of primary foci and prescription of sulfanilamide preparations, streptomycin, and other drugs. In advanced states the foot may be amputated.