[Incidence of fungal isolation in clinical specimens from the respiratory tract].
The incidence of fungal isolation in 711 clinical specimens from the respiratory tract was investigated in 159 patients with pulmonary diseases. Fungi were isolated from 14/19 pharynx swab samples, 246/342 sputum samples, 34/147 bronchial aspirate samples, 18/97 bronchial lavage samples, 4/17 transbronchial lung biopsy samples, and 5/60 plugged catheter brush samples. Contamination by fungi in normal flora was prevented by using an aseptic procedure for sampling specimens from the respiratory tract. The isolation rate of Candida spp. from sputum was 70.0% (C. albicans: 151 strains, C. glabrata: 43 strains, C. tropicalis: 25 strains, C. lusitaniae: 4 strains, C. krusei: 3 strains, C. guilliermondii: 3 strains and C. paraspilosis: 1 strain). The isolation rates of C. neoformans and A. fumigatus from sputum were 6.4% and 8.8%, respectively. Isolated fungi from bronchial aspirate included 12 strains of C. albicans, 6 strains of C. tropicalis, 5 strains of A. fumigatus and 2 strains of C. neoformans. Isolated fungi from bronchial aspirate revealed 6 strains of C. albicans, 2 strains of C. glabrata, 1 strain of C. neoformans and 6 strains of A. fumigatus. The isolation rates of fungi from sputum obtained from patients with pulmonary aspergilloma and cryptococcosis were 66.5% and 50.0%, respectively. The isolation rate of fungi from sputum of patients with underlying diseases was higher than that of patients with no underlying disease.
Maesaki
S
S
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine.
Kohno
S
S
Tanaka
K
K
Mitsutake
K
K
Matsuda
H
H
Yoshitomi
Y
Y
Yasuoka
A
A
Kaku
M
M
Koga
H
H
Hara
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002175:Candida / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003454:Cryptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D003904:Mitosporic Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000382:microbiology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*