1/36. coccidioidomycosis--the airborne assault continues: an unusual presentation with a review of the history, epidemiology, and military relevance.Despite remarkable advances in detection and therapy, coccidioidomycosis remains a persistent threat to military troops deployed in endemic areas. pregnant women, immunocompromised hosts, and dark-skinned persons, particularly those of Filipino, African, Hispanic or Asian ancestry, are at greatest risk for disseminated coccidioidomycosis. The ethnically diverse military forces have susceptible active duty and reserve members stationed at or temporarily trained on bases located in endemic areas for coccidioides immitis. Although the vast majority of infections with this organism are subclinical, unusual patterns of dissemination pose a diagnostic challenge. The military physician may be tasked with recognizing acute non-specific symptoms as well as bizarre, occult manifestations of coccidioidomycosis. We present a case of disseminated coccidioidomycosis in an active duty Caucasian male who presented with a right shoulder mass. Our patient is atypical in that he had disseminated disease although immunocompetent and Caucasian. Another unusual feature is that the mass was not preceded or accompanied by any other symptoms. We could find only two other reported cases of coccidioidomycosis presenting as a soft tissue mass, both in African-American patients. The epidemiology and history of coccidioidomycosis will be reviewed, with an emphasis on military populations. The insidious nature of coccidioidomycosis, the importance of early detection and treatment in decreasing morbidity and mortality, and the presence of large numbers of military members in the endemic areas make the lessons of this case particularly relevant for all flight surgeons.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/36. coccidioidomycosis meningitis with massive dural and cerebral venous thrombosis and tissue arthroconidia.To our knowledge we report the first case of meningitis from coccidioides immitis associated with massive dural and cerebral venous thrombosis and with mycelial forms of the organism in brain tissue. The patient was a 43-year-old man with late-stage acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) whose premortem and postmortem cultures confirmed C immitis as the only central nervous system pathogenic organism. death was attributable to multiple hemorrhagic venous infarctions with cerebral edema and herniation. Although phlebitis has been noted parenthetically to occur in C immitis meningitis in the past, it has been overshadowed by the arteritic complications of the disease. This patient's severe C immitis ventriculitis with adjacent venulitis appeared to be the cause of the widespread venous thrombosis. AIDS-related coagulation defects may have contributed to his thrombotic tendency.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/36. Multi-organ failure caused by reactivated coccidioidomycosis without dissemination in a patient with renal transplantation.OBJECTIVE: The acute respiratory failure caused by pulmonary coccidioidomycosis without dissemination is an extremely unusual event. CASE REPORT: We report a 47-year-old renal transplanted man with a reactivated pulmonary coccidioidomycosis, whose clinical course presented as fulminant respiratory failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation and profound hypotension mimicking bacterial pneumonia and septic shock. Lung biopsy showed conglomerated necrotizing granulomas containing many spherules filled with endospores of coccidioides immitis. CONCLUSION: coccidioidomycosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of acute sepsis, particularly in an immunocompromised host who has travelled in an endemic area.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/36. Donor transfer of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in lung transplantation.Transplant recipients living in endemic areas are at high risk of aerosol-transmitted fungal infections because of environmental exposure while on immunosuppressive drugs, as well as reactivation of latent infection from either the patient's or the donor's organs. The latter may account for early development of coccidioidomycosis after transplantation. We describe a case of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in a lung transplant recipient who acquired the infection from the donor lung and presented with fulminant pneumonia in the immediate postoperative period.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/36. Donor-related coccidioidomycosis in organ transplant recipients.Most cases of coccidioidomycosis in organ transplant recipients arise from either primary infection with coccidioides immitis after environmental exposure or from reactivation of latent infection. Herein, we report 2 cases of rapidly fatal, disseminated coccidioidomycosis that occurred in organ transplant recipients who had never lived in or visited an area where C. immitis is endemic. Both subjects had received a transplanted organ from the same donor, an individual with unrecognized active coccidioidomycosis at the time of his death.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 7keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/36. coccidioides immitis presenting as a mycelial pathogen with empyema and hydropneumothorax.A previously healthy Caucasian male developed hydropneumothorax and a pleural peel filled with pleomorphic, septate hyphae. The only organism grown from cultures of the lung and pleural fluid was coccidioides immitis, confirmed by exoantigen testing. Spherule-endospore forms were produced, however, following injection of the arthroconidial tissue isolate into BALB/c mice. The patient had a positive immunodiffusion complement-fixation test and developed a positive coccidioidin skin test during therapy. He recovered following thoracotomy and wedge resection of the ruptured coccidioidal cavity, and therapy with amphotericin b followed by fluconazole. The sole presence of the mycelial form of the dimorphic fungus C. immitis in the pleural space may have been due to a low CO2 partial pressure at that site secondary to a bronchopleural fistula. The case shows a distinctive and uncommon presentation of coccidioidomycosis which demonstrates the specificity of both the immunodiffusion complement-fixation assay in diagnosing this disease and the exoantigen test in confirming culture results.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/36. coccidioidomycosis in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients.coccidioidomycosis is an endemic fungal infection of the desert southwestern united states that can cause devastating disseminated infection in immunocompromised persons. Clinical coccidioidomycosis, which is caused by coccidioides species, has been well characterized in patients who have had solid organ transplants, but it has rarely been described in patients who have received a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). We report the experience of 121 consecutive HSCT recipients at a single tertiary care institution in an endemic area. One patient had fatal disseminated coccidioidomycosis after receiving an allogeneic transplant, and 2 patients had pulmonary infection before successful autologous HSCT; 1 of these 2 had a reactivation of coccidioidal infection after HSCT but was treated and survived. coccidioidomycosis was not commonly identified in HSCT recipients, even in the endemic area. A prospective evaluation is required to address the optimal use of coccidioidal serologic tests, antifungal protocols, and secondary prophylaxis in these patients.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/36. Unusual presentations of coccidioidomycosis: a case series and review of the literature.coccidioidomycosis is an emerging fungal infection of the southwestern united states. Although coccidioides species infections are usually asymptomatic or result in a mild, flu-like illness, disseminated disease may occur in 1% of cases. While extrapulmonary disease usually involves the skin, central nervous system, bones, or joints, coccidioidomycosis is a great imitator, with the ability to infect any tissue or organ. Cases may be diagnosed outside of endemic areas, hence providers worldwide should be aware of the broad range of manifestations of coccidioidomycosis. We present a case series of unusual presentations of coccidioidomycosis including serous cavity infections with cases of pericarditis, empyema, and peritonitis, as well as unusual abscesses involving the retropharyngeal space and gluteal musculature. We provide a complete review of the literature and summarize the clinical presentations, diagnoses, and treatments of these rare forms of disseminated coccidioidomycosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/36. iritis presumed as secondary to disseminated coccidioidomycosis.BACKGROUND: coccidioidomycosis is a systemic disease caused by a fungus found in soil and transmitted through inhalation. It is prevalent in western and southwestern united states, mexico, and South and central america. Results of skin testing, serologic testing, and tissue cultures confirm the diagnosis. coccidioidomycosis can manifest in various ways: the infected individual may present asymptomatically, with an acute respiratory infection, or, in more severe or chronic cases, with a multiorgan presentation. Ocular involvement may include anterior segment, posterior segment, or extraorbital involvement. CASE REPORT: A case concerning a patient with iritis presumed as secondary to disseminated coccidioidomycosis is discussed. The patient initially presented to our clinic with signs and symptoms of acute, unilateral iritis and a recent history of iritis in the contralateral eye. The active inflammation was treated topically with Pred Forte and cyclopentolate and resolved without sequelae. Because the presentation was bilateral with an asymmetric timecourse, laboratory tests were ordered to rule out systemic association. Because all tests yielded negative results, the known history of disseminated coccidioidomycosis was presumed to be the etiology of this iritis. CONCLUSION: Although eye findings are rare, disseminated coccidioidomycosis is an important differential to consider when a patient presents with uveitis. For this reason, awareness and recognition of ocular signs and symptoms of this disease is significant in proper patient care and management.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/36. Disseminated coccidioidomycosis detected by percutaneous liver biopsy in a liver transplant recipient.The authors report the first case, to their knowledge, of disseminated coccidioidomycosis occurring in a liver transplant recipient. The case is also interesting in that the diagnosis of disseminated coccidioidomycosis was made fortuitously, only after finding the characteristic endosporulating spherules on a percutaneous liver biopsy. In addition, the authors reviewed the literature on post-transplant infection with particular emphasis on fungal pathogens. All studies concurred that candida species was the most prevalent infecting fungal organism when both localized and disseminated forms of infection are included. aspergillus was the second most common offender, and disseminated infection was associated with a very grave prognosis for the transplant recipient. Rare infections with mucor and cryptococcus neoformans are described in the literature.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = organ (Clic here for more details about this article) |
| | Next -> |