Lophomonas blattarum is an anaerobic protozoan living in the intestine of cockroaches and house dust mites, with ultramicroscopic characteristics such as the presence of a parabasal body, axial filament, and absence of mitochondria. More than 200 cases of Lophomonas infection of the respiratory tract have been reported worldwide. However, the current diagnosis of such infection depends only on light microscopic morphological findings from respiratory secretions. In this study, we attempted to provide more robust evidence of protozoal infection in an immunocompromised patient with atypical pneumonia, positive for Lophomonas-like protozoal cell forms. A direct search of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid via polymerase chain reaction (PCR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and metagenomic next-generation sequencing did not prove the presence of protozoal infection. PCR results were not validated with sufficient rigor, while de novo assembly and taxonomic classification results did not confirm the presence of an unidentified pathogen. The TEM results implied that such protozoal forms in light microscopy are actually non-detached ciliated epithelial cells. After ruling out infectious causes, the patient’s final diagnosis was drug-induced pneumonitis. These findings underscore the lack of validation in the previously utilized diagnostic methods, and more evidence in the presence of L. blattarum is required to further prove its pathogenicity.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Pulmonary infection by Lophomonas spp. and Aspergillus spp. in a B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia patient from Chile Isabel Iturrieta-González, Enzo Moenen-Locoz, Alejandro Hidalgo, Fernando Vega, Johanna Cabrera, Carla Concha, Carolina Chahin, Javier Briones, Flery Fonseca-Salamanca Parasitology International.2025; 104: 102971. CrossRef
A Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase (PCR) como estratégia de diagnóstico e monitoramento nas protozooses: uma revisão integrativa Luiza Valente Breda Libardi, Juliana Gouveia da Silva, Danieli Perini Alvares, Clara Fagundes Marely, Bruno Serafini Venturini, Guilherme Frinhani Bernardineli, Filipe Salume Lima Nogueira, Adelson Luiz Ferreira, Rodrigo Moraes, Priscila Pinto e Silva do Clinics Biopsychosocial.2025; 3(1): 58. CrossRef
First Report of the Pulmonary Parasite Lophomonas blattarum in Ahvaz Province, Khuzestan: Case Report and Literature Review Mojtaba Aghaei, Hanieh Raji, Seyed Sobhan Bahreiny, Mohammad Amin Vahid, Najmaldin Saki Advanced Biomedical Research.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
The diagnostic ambiguity for Polymerase Chain Reaction in the detection of Lophomonas blattarum Canan Doğu Tok, Funda Dogruman Al Middle Black Sea Journal of Health Science.2025; 11(4): 356. CrossRef
First Molecular Evidence of Emerging Lophomonas Pathogen Among Patients Suspected of Having Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Mazandaran Province, Northern Iran Hossein Veisi, Abdollah Malakian, Mahdi Fakhar, Ali Sharifpour, Maryam Nakhaei, Mostafa Soleymani, Seyed Reza Mosave, Nader Ahangar, Seyed Hosien Seyedpour Acta Parasitologica.2024; 69(1): 1041. CrossRef
Imaging patterns of Lophomonas blattarum infection in the respiratory tract: a registry-based analysis Amirmasoud Taheri, Mahdi Fakhar, Ali Sharifpour, Elhamsadat Banimostafavi, Sepideh SafaNavaei, Siavash Abedi, Hossein Mehravaran, Masoud Aliyali, Ahmad Shafahi, Asieh Delpzir BMC Infectious Diseases.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Case series of complicated bronchopulmonary lophomoniasis. Differential diagnosis of tuberculosis? Cristian Morán-Mariños, Juan Salas López, Felix Llanos-Tejada, Renato Casanova-Mendoza, Renzo Villanueva-Villegas, Antonella Chavez-Huamani, Kenneth G. Vargas-Ponce, Margaret Condori-Zevallos European Clinical Respiratory Journal.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
In July 2012, philometrid nematodes were discovered in cultured rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli) in Cheonsuman (Bay), the Republic of Korea. The nematodes were detected in the epithelial tissues of the rockfish and were identified as Clavinema mariae based on morphological studies using light and scanning electron microscopy. They revealed the characteristics same as previously identified C. mariae, notably having a long body with narrow posterior half, no caudal projection, a cylindrical-shaped esophagus, a well-developed anterior bulbous part of the esophagus, cephalic papillae, and a dorsal esophageal gland. This is the first confirmation of C. mariae infection in rockfish in Korea.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Nematode Parasites of Rockfish (Sebastes spp.) and Cod (Gadus spp.) from Waters near Kodiak Island Alaska, USA Mehmet Cemal Oğuz, Andrea McRae Campbell, Samuel P. Bennett, Mark C. Belk Diversity.2021; 13(9): 436. CrossRef
New records of philometrids (Nematoda: Philometridae) from marine fishes off Japan, including description of Philometra kidakoi sp. n. and Congerinema japonicum gen. et sp. n. Frantisek Moravec, Kazuya Nagasawa, Masato Nitta, Atsushi Tawa Folia Parasitologica.2019;[Epub] CrossRef
First
Prev
