Pulmonary blastomycosis presenting as primary lung cancer

Blastomycosis is an endemic mycosis in North America that is caused by the dimorphic fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis. The illness is a systemic disease with a wide variety of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary manifestations. The initial presentation of blastomycosis may easily be mistaken for other infe...

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Veröffentlicht in:BMC infectious diseases 2018-07, Vol.18 (1), p.336-336, Article 336
Hauptverfasser: Hussaini, Syed Mohammed Qasim, Madut, Deng, Tong, Betty C, Pavlisko, Elizabeth N, Schell, Wiley A, Perfect, John R, Thielman, Nathan M
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Blastomycosis is an endemic mycosis in North America that is caused by the dimorphic fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis. The illness is a systemic disease with a wide variety of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary manifestations. The initial presentation of blastomycosis may easily be mistaken for other infectious or non-infectious etiologies. We present the case of a 52-year-old African-American male and former smoker that presented to his primary care provider with a 2-week history of non-productive cough, night sweats and weight loss. Initially diagnosed with primary lung malignancy, the patient was subsequently found to have pulmonary blastomycosis mimicking lung cancer. The patient underwent a successful course of treatment with posaconazole. Chronic blastomycosis can present with clinical and radiographic features indistinguishable from thoracic malignancies. There is no clinical syndrome specific for blastomycosis, thus a high degree of suspicion is required for early diagnosis. In this case report, we review recent evidence in radiographic features, diagnostic considerations and treatment of the disease.
ISSN:1471-2334
1471-2334
DOI:10.1186/s12879-018-3244-0