scholarly journals Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis: Notes for a Clinician in a Resource-Limited Setting Where There Is No Mycologist

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Bongomin ◽  
Lucy Grace Asio ◽  
Joseph Baruch Baluku ◽  
Richard Kwizera ◽  
David W. Denning

Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is a spectrum of several progressive disease manifestations caused by Aspergillus species in patients with underlying structural lung diseases. Duration of symptoms longer than three months distinguishes CPA from acute and subacute invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. CPA affects over 3 million individuals worldwide. Its diagnostic approach requires a thorough Clinical, Radiological, Immunological and Mycological (CRIM) assessment. The diagnosis of CPA requires (1) demonstration of one or more cavities with or without a fungal ball present or nodules on chest imaging, (2) direct evidence of Aspergillus infection or an immunological response to Aspergillus species and (3) exclusion of alternative diagnoses, although CPA and mycobacterial disease can be synchronous. Aspergillus antibody is elevated in over 90% of patients and is the cornerstone for CPA diagnosis. Long-term oral antifungal therapy improves quality of life, arrests haemoptysis and prevents disease progression. Itraconazole and voriconazole are alternative first-line agents; voriconazole is preferred for patients with contra-indications to itraconazole and in those with severe disease (including large aspergilloma). In patients co-infected with tuberculosis (TB), it is not possible to treat TB with rifampicin and concurrently administer azoles, because of profound drug interactions. In those with pan-azole resistance or intolerance or progressive disease while on oral triazoles, short-term courses of intravenous liposomal amphotericin B or micafungin is used. Surgery benefits patients with well-circumscribed simple aspergillomas and should be offered earlier in low-resource settings.

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Denning ◽  
Jacques Cadranel ◽  
Catherine Beigelman-Aubry ◽  
Florence Ader ◽  
Arunaloke Chakrabarti ◽  
...  

Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is an uncommon and problematic pulmonary disease, complicating many other respiratory disorders, thought to affect ∼240 000 people in Europe. The most common form of CPA is chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis (CCPA), which untreated may progress to chronic fibrosing pulmonary aspergillosis. Less common manifestations include:Aspergillusnodule and single aspergilloma. All these entities are found in non-immunocompromised patients with prior or current lung disease. Subacute invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (formerly called chronic necrotising pulmonary aspergillosis) is a more rapidly progressive infection (<3 months) usually found in moderately immunocompromised patients, which should be managed as invasive aspergillosis. Few clinical guidelines have been previously proposed for either diagnosis or management of CPA. A group of experts convened to develop clinical, radiological and microbiological guidelines. The diagnosis of CPA requires a combination of characteristics: one or more cavities with or without a fungal ball present or nodules on thoracic imaging, direct evidence ofAspergillusinfection (microscopy or culture from biopsy) or an immunological response toAspergillusspp. and exclusion of alternative diagnoses, all present for at least 3 months.Aspergillusantibody (precipitins) is elevated in over 90% of patients. Surgical excision of simple aspergilloma is recommended, if technically possible, and preferablyviavideo-assisted thoracic surgery technique. Long-term oral antifungal therapy is recommended for CCPA to improve overall health status and respiratory symptoms, arrest haemoptysis and prevent progression. Careful monitoring of azole serum concentrations, drug interactions and possible toxicities is recommended. Haemoptysis may be controlled with tranexamic acid and bronchial artery embolisation, rarely surgical resection, and may be a sign of therapeutic failure and/or antifungal resistance. Patients with singleAspergillusnodules only need antifungal therapy if not fully resected, but if multiple they may benefit from antifungal treatment, and require careful follow-up.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Kwizera ◽  
Andrew Katende ◽  
Felix Bongomin ◽  
Lydia Nakiyingi ◽  
Bruce J. Kirenga

Abstract Background Diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is based on a combination of clinical symptomatology, compatible chest imaging findings, evidence of Aspergillus infection and exclusion of alternative diagnosis, all occurring for more than 3 months. Recently, a rapid, highly sensitive and specific point-of-care lateral flow device (LFD) has been introduced for the detection of Aspergillus-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)G, especially in resource-limited settings where CPA is underdiagnosed and often misdiagnosed as smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Therefore, in our setting, where tuberculosis (TB) is endemic, exclusion of PTB is an important first step to the diagnosis of CPA. We used the recently published CPA diagnostic criteria for resource-limited settings to identify patients with CPA in our center. Case presentation Three Ugandan women (45/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative, 53/HIV infected and 18/HIV negative), with a longstanding history of cough, chest pain, weight loss and constitutional symptoms, were clinically and radiologically diagnosed with PTB and empirically treated with an anti-tuberculous regimen despite negative microbiological tests. Repeat sputum Mycobacteria GeneXpert assays were negative for all three patients. On further evaluation, all three patients met the CPA diagnostic criteria with demonstrable thick-walled cavities and fungal balls (aspergilomas) on chest imaging and positive Aspergillus-specific IgG/IgM antibody tests. After CPA diagnosis, anti-TB drugs were safely discontinued for all patients, and they were initiated on capsules of itraconazole 200 mg twice daily with good treatment outcomes. Conclusions The availability of simple clinical diagnostic criteria for CPA and a LFD have the potential to reduce misdiagnosis of CPA and in turn improve treatment outcomes in resource-limited settings.


1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsuro HASHIMOTO ◽  
Yuriko YAMAKAMI ◽  
Shunji MIZUNOE ◽  
Eiji YAMAGATA ◽  
Hiroshi NAGAOKA ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 271
Author(s):  
Sun Shin ◽  
Bo-Guen Kim ◽  
Jiyeon Kang ◽  
Sang-Won Um ◽  
Hojoong Kim ◽  
...  

Lung resection surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is reportedly a risk factor for developing chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA). However, limited data are available regarding the development of CPA during long-term follow-up after lung cancer surgery. This study aimed to investigate the cumulative incidence and clinical factors associated with CPA development after lung cancer surgery. We retrospectively analyzed 3423 patients with NSCLC who (1) underwent surgical resection and (2) did not have CPA at the time of surgery between January 2010 and December 2013. The diagnosis of CPA was based on clinical symptoms, serological or microbiological evidences, compatible radiological findings, and exclusion of alternative diagnoses. The cumulative incidence of CPA and overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and a multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis was performed to identify factors associated with CPA development. Patients were followed-up for a median of 5.83 years with a 72.3% 5-year OS rate. Fifty-six patients developed CPA at a median of 2.68 years after surgery, with cumulative incidences of 0.4%, 1.1%, 1.6%, and 3.5% at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively. Lower body mass index (BMI), smoking, underlying interstitial lung disease, thoracotomy, development of postoperative pulmonary complications 30 days after surgery, and treatment with both chemotherapy and radiotherapy were independently associated with CPA development. The cumulative incidence of CPA after surgery was 3.5% at 10 years and showed a steadily increasing trend during long-term follow-up. Therefore, increased awareness regarding CPA development is needed especially in patients with risk factors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Takazono ◽  
Yuya Ito ◽  
Masato Tashiro ◽  
Keitaro Nishimura ◽  
Tomomi Saijo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Aspergillus-specific lateral-flow device (AspLFD) test is a newly developed point-of-care diagnostic method for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. However, evidence of the diagnostic performance of the AspLFD for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is limited. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective study to investigate this in comparison with the galactomannan (GM) β-d-glucan (BDG) test. Fifty patients with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and 65 patients with respiratory disease, as a control, were enrolled in this study. The majority of the CPA disease entities were chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (64.0%, n = 32), followed by subacute invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) (20.0%, n = 10) and simple pulmonary aspergilloma (SPA) (16.0%, n = 8). The sensitivity and specificity of the AspLFD test in serum samples were 62.0% and 67.7%, respectively. The GM test (cutoff index, 1.54) showed a sensitivity of 22% and a specificity of 92.3%, while the sensitivity and specificity of the BDG test (cutoff, 19.3 pg/ml) were 48% and 90.8%, respectively. In bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples, the AspLFD test showed a sensitivity of 66.7% and a specificity of 69.2%, while those of the GM test (cutoff index, 0.6) were 72.7% and 83.1%, respectively. The Aspergillus precipitating antibody test had 70% sensitivity. Unlike the Aspergillus precipitating antibody test, the AspLFD on serum samples showed similar sensitivity to non-fumigatus Aspergillus species. Patients with false-positive results for the AspLFD on serum samples were of a significantly higher age and had a higher prevalence of cavitary lesions in chest computed tomography than patients with negative results in the control group. Given the results in this study, the performance of the AspLFD using serum was acceptable as a point-of-care test for the diagnosis of CPA.


1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 696-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Murphy ◽  
E M Bernard ◽  
T Ishimaru ◽  
D Armstrong

Voriconazole, a new azole antifungal agent, showed potent activity against clinical isolates of Aspergillus spp. in vitro. For A. fumigatus, the MIC range was < 0.03 to 0.5 microgram/ml and the MIC at which 90% of isolates are inhibited was 0.25 microgram/ml. In an experimental model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis which mimics infection in humans, oral voriconazole at dosages of 30 mg/kg of body weight per day significantly delayed or prevented mortality.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qihong Yu ◽  
Jingdong He ◽  
Bin Xing ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Hongyu Qian ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: At present, serum Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection is mainly used in the diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), but its value in the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in non-agranulocytic patients is still unclear. IgG is a marker of long-term infection and is used to assist in the diagnosis of pre-existing or chronic infection-related diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the value of serum Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection in the diagnosis of IPA and CPA in non-agranulocytic patients. Methods: Fifty-eight cases of pulmonary aspergillosis (37 IPA and 21 CPA cases), 15 cases of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and 50 cases in the healthy control group were collected. The serum (1,3)-β-D-glucan test (G test) was performed with a chromogenic method, and the galactomannan test (GM test) and Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibody detection were performed by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in all patients. The sensitivity and specificity, cut-off value and area under the curve (AUC) of Aspergillus IgG and IgM antibodies were further obtained by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: The positive rate of the G test, Aspergillus IgG antibody detection and the GM test also showed notable differences among the IPA, CPA, community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and healthy groups ( P = 0.006, P < 0.001 and P = 0.217, respectively). Only the positive rate of the GM test showed a significant difference between the IPA and CPA groups ( P = 0.04). ROC curves indicated that Aspergillus IgG antibody detection had a higher specificity in the IPA group than in the CPA group (0.952). The detection of Aspergillus IgG antibody can preferably distinguish IPA from community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and healthy controls (sensitivity = 0.923, specificity = 0.459, cut-off value = 134.46, AUC = 0.727). It can also distinguish CPA from community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and healthy controls (sensitivity = 0.952, specificity = 0.692, cut-off value = 75.46, AUC = 0.873). Conclusions: Serum Aspergillus IgG antibody detection may have certain clinical value in the diagnosis of IPA and CPA in non-agranulocytic patients.


Pneumologia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-143
Author(s):  
Oxana Munteanu ◽  
Dumitru Chesov ◽  
Doina Rusu ◽  
Irina Volosciuc ◽  
Victor Botnaru

Abstract Pulmonary sequelae related to tuberculosis (TB) are among the major causes of bronchiectasis in Eastern Europe. The role of bacterial colonisation in the pathogenesis of bronchiectasis has been continuously studied over the last decades, less understood remains the impact of fungal infection, alone or in association with bacterial. Although the data on the development of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) secondary to TB are scarce, recent evidence suggests a higher prevalence of CPA in patients with a past history of pulmonary TB than it was previously estimated. We present a case of natural evolution of CPA, with a radiological follow-up, in a patient with post-tuberculous bronchiectasis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
Bharath Janapati ◽  
◽  
Anil Jain ◽  
Priya Sharma

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. Introduction. Aspergillus is a ubiquitous fungal organism that causes a variety of pulmonary manifestations, both in immune-competent and immune-compromised patients. It can vary from simple colonization, Aspergilloma, ABPA to Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis (CPA) and Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis (IPA) (1). ABPA is the most frequently recognized manifestation of allergic aspergillosis, caused by the immunological reactions mounted against Asp. fumigatus. Aspergillomas are rounded conglomerates of fungal hyphae, fibrin, mucus and cellular debris that arise in pulmonary cavities, as a late manifestation of CPA. Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is a long-term aspergillus infection of the lung. The most common form of CPA is chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis (CCPA), which untreated may progress to chronic fibrosing pulmonary aspergillosis. Aspergillus overlap syndrome is defined as the occurrence of more than one form of aspergillus disease (e.g., ABPA with Aspergilloma, ABPA progressing to IPA etc.) in a single individual. Case Report. A 58-year-old woman, resident of …


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