Rapidly progressive pulmonary cryptococcosis with cavitation in an immunocompetent woman: a case report and literature review.
We describe here a case of rapidly
progressive pulmonary with cavitation in an immunocompetent woman. A
29-year-old woman had a routine chest X-ray as part of a routine examination. The
chest X-ray showed pulmonary nodules. She was diagnosed as having bacterial
pneumonia even though she had no symptoms and was treated with ampicillin
orally. A chest X-ray was repeated 12 days later as follow-up which showed an
increase in the nodules. She continued to be asymptomatic and had a normal
lung examination. Her complete blood count revealed a normal white blood cell
count and her anti-human immunodeficiency virus test was normal, as were her
immunoglobulin levels and CD4 counts. She had a computed tomography (CT)
scan of the lungs that showed two pulmonary nodules, one with cavitation. She
then underwent a CT guided needle biopsy of the cavitary lesion which revealed
pulmonary cryptococcosis. A serum latex cryptococcal antigen test revealed a
titer of 1:32. She was treated with fluconazole 400 mg IV daily for 7 days, followed
by oral fluconazole 200 mg daily for a year. The cavitary lesion gradually
disappeared and the nodules decreased in size. A follow-up CT 1 year later was
normal. Although rare, cryptococcosis of the lungs with pulmonary cavitation can
occur in otherwise healthy patients, requiring long term treatment to improve.
PMID: 29644837 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health - Category: Tropical Medicine Tags: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health Source Type: research
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