Infectious Pseudochromhidrosis: A Case Report and Literature Review

Microorganisms may produce pigments to increase the likelihood of survival.Under favourable conditions such pigments can result in coloured sweat and/or atypical skin discolouration in patients.This is a rare dermatological disorder named infectious pseudochromhidrosis.We report here a case of blue infectious pseudochromhidrosis caused by the bacteria Bacillus cereus and a literature review.The potential triggers, causative microorganisms, diagnostic approaches, and suggested treatments for infectious pseudochromhidrosis are addressed. Infectious pseudochromhidrosis isa rare dermatolo gical disorder, characterized by a change in colour of the sweat from normal skin, caused by pigments from microorganisms.Such pigments are a result of evolu tionary competition among microorganisms, which ap pears to be a decisive factor in their survival, patho genicity, and virulence.Four bacteria are known to be involved in infectious pseudochromhidrosis: Bacillus spp.(blue colour), Corynebacterium spp.(brown/ black colour), Serratia marcescens (red/pink colour), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (bluegreen colour).In fectious pseudochromhidrosis seems to be triggered by certain drugs and conditions causing physiological alterations and/or changes in microflora on the skin surface.The condition can be treated by addressing po tential triggers and/or prescribing antibiotic/antisep tic therapies.We report here a case of blue infectious pseudochromhidrosis caused by pigmentproducing Bacillus cereus and the results of a literature review.