The clinical and radiological characteristics of pulmonary cryptococcosis in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients

BMC Pulmonary Medicine

Peng Xiao¹  Si-Ying Ren²  Wen-Liang Liu³  Yan Hu³  Feng-Lei Yu³ 

[1] Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 410013, Changsha, China;Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 410011, Changsha, China;Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Road, 410011, Changsha, China;

关键词: Pulmonary cryptococcosis;    Computed tomography;    Fungal infection;    Immune status;    Cavitation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12890-021-01630-3

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWe characterized the clinical features, radiographic characteristics, and response to treatment of immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC).MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records and radiological profiles of patients diagnosed with PC who received surgical resection between May 2015 and November 2020 in a tertiary referral center.ResultsA total of 21 males and 18 females were included in the study. 23 patients were immunocompetent and 20 out of the 39 were asymptomatic. Immunocompetent patients were diagnosed with PC at a younger age than immunocompromised patients (48.9 vs 57.1 years, P = 0.02). Single nodule pattern was the most frequent lesion pattern (33 out of 39, 84.6%) and right upper lobe was the most common site of location (15 out of 47, 31.9%). The majority of lesions were located peripherally (38 out of 47, 80.9%) and most lesions were 1–2 cm in diameter (30 out of 47, 63.8%). Cavitation was more likely to occur in immunocompromised patients (5 out of 11, 45.5%) than in immunocompetent patients (6 out of 36, 16.7%) (P = 0.04) and there was complete resolution of PC in all patients treated with anti-fungal therapy.ConclusionsImmunocompetent patients were diagnosed with PC at a younger age than immunocompromised patients. Single nodule pattern was the most frequent lesion pattern in PC patients. Cavitation was more likely to occur in immunocompromised patients than in immunocompetent patients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY