Fungal Pneumonia

Chapter 60


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Fungal Pneumonia


Paul C. Stillwell, MD, FAAP


Introduction/Etiology/Epidemiology


Endemic fungal pneumonias can occur in otherwise healthy or immunocompromised hosts.


The endemic fungal pneumonias include


Histoplasmosis


Coccidioidomycosis


Blastomycosis


Cryptococcus gattii (not Cryptococcus neoformans)


Common characteristics of the endemic fungi are listed in Table 60-1.


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Immunocompromised hosts can get fungal pneumonia from organisms that do not commonly cause invasive infection in normal hosts.


Aspergillus fumigatus (most common example)


Pneumocystis jirovecii


Candida albicans and other Candida species


C neoformans


Mucormycetes


Rhizopus


Scedosporium


Bipolaris


Curvularia


Clinical Features


In the otherwise healthy host, fungal pneumonia manifests similarly to any community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), although the illness may be more protracted or subacute than common bacterial or viral pneumonia.


Cough, low-grade fever, dyspnea, malaise, chest pain


Localized crackles may be present at examination


For endemic fungal infections, multiple organ systems may be involved (Table 60-2).


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In the immunocompromised host:


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Aug 22, 2019 | Posted by in PEDIATRICS | Comments Off on Fungal Pneumonia

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