Meander Medical Center has discovered a new fungus with Radboudumc. The mushroom was partly named Meander and was given the name Meanderella rijsii. The second part of the name refers to Ton Rijs, an analyst in Radboudumc’s Department of Medical Microbiology who died in 2017. Dutch doctors often contact the Radboudumc Fungal Infection Expert Center to diagnose fungal infections in patients and advise on treatment. Meander did the same some time ago when they discovered a fungus that was difficult to treat in a patient.
Discovering a new mushroom
Minder discovered the fungus in a patient with a sore toe. Rheumatologist Ruth Claassen explains: “This patient presented to Minder with a deep infection in his toe. At first we thought about gout, which is why this patient came to us. But soon we found out it was a deep fungal infection that could not be treated properly. This is rare. It does happen and it actually only occurs in the tropics or in people with poor immune systems. But that was not the case with this patient.” Reason enough to call Radboudumc. Peggy Godschalk, a medical microbiologist at Meander explains: “We analyzed the mushrooms in our lab and couldn’t place them. At first, we sent the mushrooms to another lab. They gave us the name of a mushroom, but that wasn’t right in our opinion. That’s why we called in Radboudumc They searched for mushrooms for a long time, and eventually it turned out to be a new type of fungi. This was discovered thanks to the latest analysis technology from Radboudumc. But certainly also thanks to the attention and experience of our laboratory analysts. The laboratory is never visible, but plays an important role in the hospital We have an enthusiastic club of analysts thanks in part to the discovery of this new fungus. So the fact that the mushroom is named Meander is a wonderful mark of appreciation.”
flag in zigzag
A scholarly article has been published on the above research with contributions from Ruth Klassen and Peggy Goodshall. Meander is an STZ hospital. This is why medical scientific research plays an important role in Meander. This is important for the improvement and innovation of patient care and the professional development of health care providers. This relates to scientific research by physicians, but also by nurses and other healthcare professionals. Conducting research contributes fundamentally to improving patient care. Combined with the large numbers of patients, this means that STZ hospitals such as Meander have a special place in the Dutch hospital scene.
