Cytologic diagnosis of aspergillosis in cardiac transplantation.
Fine-needle aspiration of the lung is now widely utilized to diagnose pulmonary neoplasms, but often serologic techniques or open-lung biopsy is relied on for the diagnosis of infectious pulmonary processes. We report a series of four patients in whom the fine-needle aspiration technique was used to make the rapid cytologic diagnosis of pulmonary aspergillosis. Culture confirmation was also obtained on the aspirated material. A discussion of the available techniques for the laboratory diagnosis of pulmonary aspergillosis is presented and the advantages of fine-needle aspiration cytology are stressed. Our favorable results support expanded use of fine-needle aspiration cytology in the evaluation of lung nodules appearing in immunosuppressed populations.
McCalmont
T H
TH
Department of Pathology, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.
Silverman
J F
JF
Geisinger
K R
KR
D000328:Adult; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008172:Lung Diseases, Fungal / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis