Pulmonary and extrapulmonary coccidioidomycosis: three cases in an endemic area in the state of Ceará, Brazil.
Coccidioidomycosis, a fungal illness acquired by the inhalation of arthroconidia of Coccidioides sp., was first described in 1894. Coccidioidomycosis is mainly restricted to areas with arid climate, alkaline soil and low rainfall. Consequently, most of the reported cases in Brazil have occurred in the northeastern region. We report three cases of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis occurring between 2005 and 2006 in an endemic area in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The three patients were immunocompetent adult males, hunters of armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), with complaints of cough, fever, dyspnea and pleuritic pain. All three patients presented pulmonary involvement, and only one also presented cutaneous lesions. Chest X-rays and CT scans of the patients revealed characteristic coccidioidomycosis lesions. The diagnosis was confirmed by serological testing. All of the patients evolved to cure after antifungal treatment.
Togashi
Ricardo Hideo
RH
Universidade Federal do Ceará, Sobral, CE, Brasil.
Aguiar
Fernando Moreira Batista
FM
Ferreira
Dalton Barros
DB
Moura
Camille Matos de
CM
Sales
Monique Teixeira Montezuma
MT
Rios
Nikaelle Ximenes
NX
D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003045:Coccidioides / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003047:Coccidioidomycosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003889:Desert Climate; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006801:Humans; D008172:Lung Diseases, Fungal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult