Abstract
The chest X-ray film of a girl with cystic fibrosis (CF) showed slowly increasing mottled densities during the 6th and 7th year of her life. Pulmonary symptoms and distress proceeded fast in spite of intensive treatment with antibiotics, corticosteroids, and physiotherapy. Three different fungal organisms were repeatedly cultured from the sputum:Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus, andExophiala dermatitidis. Antibodies againstC. albicans were in the normal range.Candida antigen in blood and antibodies againstA. fumigatus were absent. Antibodies againstE. dermatitidis were detected by a recently developed indirect immunofluorescence assay. It seems most probable thatE. dermatitidis was the causal agent for fungal pneumonia in this case. Under therapy with ampothericin B and flucytosine the clinical course and radiological appearance improved but definitive eradication ofE. dermatitidis was only achieved after treatment with itraconazole. The isolation of this fungus from the sputum of a CF patient is reported for the first time. The significance of fungal infections in CF is discussed.
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Abbreviations
- CF:
-
cystic fibrosis
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Kusenbach, G., Skopnik, H., Haase, G. et al. Exophiala dermatitidis pneumonia in cystic fibrosis. Eur J Pediatr 151, 344–346 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02113255
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02113255