Bilateral pulmonary shadows and incapsulated mediastinal effusion in a patient with respiratory blastoschizomycosis.

INTRODUCTION

Invasive blastoschizomycosis is an emerging and fatal infection of severely immunocompromised patients. Pneumonia caused by this fungus has been reported as a post mortem diagnosis in a patient with haematologic malignancy.

CASE REPORT: A 46-year-old unemployed Caucasian man, smoker, was admitted on emergency in a serious condition, with bilateral pulmonary infiltrates (chest x-ray) and incapsulated mediastinal pleural effusions (computed tomography scans). Blastoschizomyces capitatus (Trichosporon capitatum) has been isolated from two sputum samples and bronchial secretion aspirate obtained by bronchoscopy.

CONCLUSION

Pneumonia caused by Blastoschizomyces capitatus can develop in subjects without underlying malignancy but with history of heavy alcohol intake, tobacco smoking and malnutrition and may have favorable disease outcome.