Rev Iberoam Micol 2008; 25:41-44.

Cavitary pneumonia in an AIDS patient with cryptococcosis

Marcelo Corti1,2, Norberto Trione1, Karin Semorile1, Omar Palmieri2, Ricardo Negroni3 & Alicia Arechavala3

1División de VIH/SIDA, 2Cátedra de Enfermedades Infecciosas (UBA), 3Laboratorio de Micología, Hospital de Enfermedades Infecciosas F. J. Muñiz, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Pulmonary cryptococcosis is an unusual fungal infection that is most often found in AIDS or in organ transplant recipients. Although in immunocompromised patients, cryptococcal infection often causes pulmonary infections, the diagnosis of lung involvement is generally difficult. The presentation of pulmonary cryptoccosis in HIV-infected patients appears to be more acute and severe than in other immunocompromised patients, probably related with the severe immunosuppression. Diffuse infiltrates, mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes enlargement are the most common radiological findings in AIDS-associated pulmonary cryptococcosis. Cavitation is a rare form of and includes only 10% to 15% of all cases. Only a few case reports or studies with small number of patients of pulmonary cryptococcosis have been published over the past two decades. We report a case of an AIDS patient who developed cavitary pneumonia as the only clinical expression of cryptococcosis.



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