The aim of this study was to observe the clinical and of epidemiological behavior of chromoblastomycosis in the State of Maranhão. A retrospective and prospective study ofl 3 cases was performed at the infectious diseases section of the Hospital dos Servidores do Estado do Maranhão, from November, 1988 to July, 1991. In the investigation a protocol record was used with a view to further analysis. A higher prevalence betweem 50 and 60 years of age (46.1%) and in male patients (92.3%) was noted. Twelve patients (92.3%) were from Maranhão State, and 10 of them (76.9%) came from the Western Microregion of the State of Maranhão. Regarding occupation, 92.3 % were landworkers, and most of them presented the lesions on the lower limbs (84.6%) of a vegetant warty aspect, brown in color with itching. Histopathological exammination diagnosed chromomycosis in 100% of the cases. Culture was performed in 11 cases, and Fonsecaea pedrosoi isolated in 9 of them. Treatment with 5-fluorocytosine resulted in a good evolutive response. This study indicates the existence of a probable endemic area of chromomycosis in hinterland of Maranhão (Western Microregion) that hither to unknown.
Chromoblastomycosis; Fonsecaea pedrosoi; State of Maranhão