THORACIC MYCOSES FROM OPPORTUNISTIC FUNGI - RADIOLOGIC-PATHOLOGICAL CORRELATION

Fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Candida, and Cryptococcus and the cla ss Zygomycetes are the most common causes of thoracic opportunistic my coses in immunocompromised patients. Candidiasis and zygomycosis usual ly manifest as severe, often life-threatening, pneumonias, Aspergillus species are commonly implicated as the causative organisms in a broad spectrum of pulmonary disorders, ranging from hypersensitivity lung d isease in atopic patients to invasive pneumonia in immunocompromised p atients, Cryptococcus neoformans infects both immunologically normal a nd abnormal patients, with variable clinical and radiologic findings, The diagnosis of an opportunistic mycosis requires familiarity with th e epidemiology of the disease, the various modes of clinical presentat ion, and the full spectrum of radiologic manifestations; Because many of these fungi mar normally colonize in the upper respiratory tract, s putum cultures are considered diagnostically unreliable, Instead, defi nitive diagnosis hinges on either culture of the fungus from infected tissue or demonstration of the organism at microscopic examination.