Candida and lung damage

Fungal pneumonia is an infection of the lungs by fungi. It can be caused by either endemic or opportunistic fungi or a combination of both. Case mortality in fungal pneumonias can be as high as 90% in immunocompromised patients,^[1][2] though immunocompetent patients generally respond well to anti-fungal therapy.

Contents

• 1 Causes
• 2 Pathophysiology
• 3 Diagnosis
• 4 Treatment
• 5 See also
• 6 Notes and references
• 7 External links

Causes[edit]

Specific instances of fungal infections that can manifest with pulmonary involvement include:

• histoplasmosis, which has primary pulmonary lesions and hematogenous dissemination
• coccidioidomycosis, which begins with an often self-limited respiratory infection (also called "Valley fever" or "San Joaquin fever")
• pulmonary blastomycosis
• pneumocystis pneumonia, which typically occurs in immunocompromised people, especially AIDS
• sporotrichosis — primarily a lymphocutaneous disease, but can involve the lungs as well
• cryptococcosis — contracted through inhalation of soil contaminated with the yeast, it can manifest as a pulmonary infection and as a disseminated one
• aspergillosis, resulting in invasive pulmonary aspergillosis
• rarely, candidiasis has pulmonary manifestations in immunocompromised patients.
• Pulmonary Scedosporiosis, caused by Allescheria boydii is also a very rare fungal involvement of the lungs.^[3]

Pathophysiology[edit]

Fungi typically enter the lung with inhalation of their spores, though they can reach the lung through the bloodstream if other parts of the body are infected. Also, fungal pneumonia can be caused by reactivation of a latent infection. Once inside the alveoli, fungi travel into the spaces between the cells and also between adjacent alveoli through connecting pores. This invasion triggers the immune system to respond by sending white blood cells responsible for attacking microorganisms (neutrophils) to the lungs. The neutrophils engulf and kill the offending organisms but also release cytokines which result in a general activation of the immune system. This results in the fever, chills, and fatigue common in bacterial and fungal pneumonia. The neutrophils and fluid leaked from surrounding blood vessels fill the alveoli and result in impaired oxygen transportation.

Diagnosis[edit]

Fungal pneumonia can be diagnosed in a number of ways. The simplest and cheapest method is to culture the fungus from a patient's respiratory fluids. However, such tests are not only insensitive but take time to develop which is a major drawback because studies have shown that slow diagnosis of fungal pneumonia is linked to high mortality.^[4] Microscopy is another method but is also slow and imprecise. Supplementing these classical methods is the detection of antigens. This technique is significantly faster but can be less sensitive and specific than the classical methods.^[5]
A molecular test based on quantitative PCR is also available from Myconostica. Relying on DNA detection, this is the most sensitive and specific test available for fungi but it is limited to detecting only pneumocystis jirovecii and aspergillus.^[6]

Treatment[edit]

Fungal pneumonia can be treated with antifungal drugs and sometimes by surgical debridement.

See also[edit]

• Pneumonia
• Medusoid Mycelium

Notes and references[edit]

1. ^ Meersseman W, Lagrou K, Maertens J, Van Wijngaerden E (July 2007). "Invasive aspergillosis in the intensive care unit". Clin. Infect. Dis. 45 (2): 205–16. doi:10.1086/518852. PMID 17578780. 
2. ^ Bulpa P, Dive A, Sibille Y (October 2007). "Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease". Eur. Respir. J. 30 (4): 782–800. doi:10.1183/09031936.00062206. PMID 17906086. 
3. ^ Meshram, Sushant; Mishra Gyanshankar (December 2011). "Pulmonary scedosporiosis–A rare entity". Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease 1 (4): 330–332. doi:10.1016/S2222-1808(11)60076-5. Retrieved 14 February 2013. 
4. ^ Morrell M, Fraser VJ, Kollef MH (September 2005). "Delaying the empiric treatment of candida bloodstream infection until positive blood culture results are obtained: a potential risk factor for hospital mortality". Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49 (9): 3640–5. doi:10.1128/AAC.49.9.3640-3645.2005. PMC 1195428. PMID 16127033. 
5. ^ Denning, D (September 2008). "Webinar on fungal diagnostics" (PDF). 
6. ^ , Philippe Hauser, Lagrou K, Cui X, PerlinD S, Park S, Harrison E, Meerssman W, Hughes M J, Bowyer P, Denning DW, Bille J, Lass-Flor C, Maertens J. Clinical performance of FXG : RESP (Asp +) assay for Aspergillus spp. and Pneumocystis jirovecii on respiratory specimens. Unpublished Data.

External links[edit]

• Coccidioidomycosis

v t e Pathology of respiratory system (J, 460–519), respiratory diseases Upper RT (including URTIs, Common cold) Head sinuses Sinusitis nose Rhinitis Vasomotor rhinitis Atrophic rhinitis Hay fever Nasal polyp Rhinorrhea nasal septum Nasal septum deviation Nasal septum perforation Nasal septal hematoma tonsil Tonsillitis Adenoid hypertrophy Peritonsillar abscess Neck pharynx Pharyngitis Strep throat Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) Retropharyngeal abscess larynx Croup Laryngitis Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) Laryngospasm vocal folds Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) Vocal fold nodule Vocal cord paresis Vocal cord dysfunction epiglottis Epiglottitis trachea Tracheitis Tracheal stenosis Lower RT/lung disease (including LRTIs) Bronchial/ obstructive acute Acute bronchitis chronic COPD Chronic bronchitis Acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis Acute exacerbation of COPD Emphysema) Asthma (Status asthmaticus Aspirin-induced Exercise-induced Bronchiectasis unspecified Bronchitis Bronchiolitis Bronchiolitis obliterans Diffuse panbronchiolitis Interstitial/ restrictive (fibrosis) External agents/ occupational lung disease Pneumoconiosis Asbestosis Baritosis Bauxite fibrosis Berylliosis Caplan's syndrome Chalicosis Coalworker's pneumoconiosis Siderosis Silicosis Talcosis Byssinosis Hypersensitivity pneumonitis Bagassosis Bird fancier's lung Farmer's lung Lycoperdonosis Other ARDS Pulmonary edema Löffler's syndrome/Eosinophilic pneumonia Respiratory hypersensitivity Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis Hamman-Rich syndrome Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis Sarcoidosis Obstructive or restrictive Pneumonia/ pneumonitis By pathogen Viral Bacterial Pneumococcal Klebsiella) Atypical bacterial Mycoplasma Legionnaires' disease Chlamydiae Fungal Pneumocystis Parasitic noninfectious Chemical/Mendelson's syndrome Aspiration/Lipid By vector/route Community-acquired Healthcare-associated Hospital-acquired By distribution Broncho- Lobar IIP UIP DIP BOOP-COP NSIP RB Other Atelectasis circulatory Pulmonary hypertension Pulmonary embolism Lung abscess Pleural cavity/ mediastinum Pleural disease Pleuritis/pleurisy Pneumothorax/Hemopneumothorax Pleural effusion Hemothorax Hydrothorax Chylothorax Empyema/pyothorax Malignant Fibrothorax Mediastinal disease Mediastinitis Mediastinal emphysema Other/general Respiratory failure Influenza SARS Idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis Index of the respiratory system v t e Description Anatomy nose larynx lower thorax Physiology Development Disease Congenital Neoplasms and cancer Chest trauma Infection Common cold Pneumonia Other Symptoms and signs eponymous Treatment Procedures Drugs nasal throat obstructive airway diseases cough and cold histaminergics other

v t e Pneumonia Infectious pneumonias Bacterial pneumonia Viral pneumonia Fungal pneumonia Parasitic pneumonia Atypical pneumonia Community-acquired pneumonia Healthcare-associated pneumonia Hospital-acquired pneumonia Ventilator-associated pneumonia Severe acute respiratory syndrome Pneumonias caused by infectious or noninfectious agents Aspiration pneumonia Lipid pneumonia Eosinophilic pneumonia Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia Noninfectious pneumonia Chemical pneumonia Index of the respiratory system v t e Description Anatomy nose larynx lower thorax Physiology Development Disease Congenital Neoplasms and cancer Chest trauma Infection Common cold Pneumonia Other Symptoms and signs eponymous Treatment Procedures Drugs nasal throat obstructive airway diseases cough and cold histaminergics other

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?title=Fungal_pneumonia&oldid=2441429"

Categories:

• Pneumonia

Hidden categories:

• Articles with contributors link
• Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows
• Pages that use a Medicine navs subtemplate

The content on this page originates from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Document License or the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license.

Ads

PC Cleaner- Free Download

free-pc-cleaner.sparktrust.com

Clean PC, Boost Speed, Fix Errors. Free Download (Highly Recommended!)

Switch Energy Tariff

britishgas.utility.discount

You Could Be Entitled To £379 Off Your Gas & Electricity Bill