The puzzle of extensive tinea incognito with a young woman: a case report a tinea incognito with Cushing’s disease

Abstract

Introduction: Tinea incognito is a rare condition commonly found in abused topical or systemic steroids. Considering their immunosuppression status, Cushing’s syndrome predisposes patients to infectious diseases. Most patients of Cushing’s syndrome are as a result of adrenocorticotropic hormone production from a pituitary adenoma, which is referred to as Cushing’s disease. Here, we reported a rare co-occurrence of tinea incognito and Cushing’s syndrome secondary to a giant pituitary tumor. Case presentation: Extensive cutaneous and nail lesions were diagnosed with the tinea incognito and tinea unguium, and endocrine or rheumatic disorders were considered as underlying disease-causing extensive tinea incognito. A series of laboratory and imaging tests were performed. We found that a giant pituitary tumor was the primary etiology of multiple cutaneous appearances and secondary disorders. There was an exceptionally unusual co-occurrence of extensive tinea incognito and pituitary adenoma in our case. Discussion: We observed a rare co-occurrence of extensive tinea incognito and pituitary adenoma, which should be taken into consideration in the urgent diagnostic criterion of tinea incognito given the potential underlying condition. Conclusion: Tinea incognito is not only associated with a history of topical or systemic steroid use, but also the association that underlying diseases related to excessive endogenous steroid production are supported to be taken into account.