Bilateral pulmonary shadows and incapsulated mediastinal effusion in a patient with respiratory blastoschizomycosis.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Invasive blastoschizomycosis is an emerging and fatal infection of severely immunocompromised patients. Pneumonia caused by this fungus has been reported as a post mortem diagnosis in a patient with haematologic malignancy. CASE REPORT: A 46-year-old unemployed Caucasian man, smoker, was admitted on emergency in a serious condition, with bilateral pulmonary infiltrates (chest x-ray) and incapsulated mediastinal pleural effusions (computed tomography scans). Blastoschizomyces capitatus (Trichosporon capitatum) has been isolated from two sputum samples and bronchial secretion aspirate obtained by bronchoscopy. CONCLUSION: Pneumonia caused by Blastoschizomyces capitatus can develop in subjects without underlying malignancy but with history of heavy alcohol intake, tobacco smoking and malnutrition and may have favorable disease outcome.