Corticosteroids and malnutrition. Aspergillus lung abscess in an asthmatic child.

An adolescent developed invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in the limited form of a lung abscess. She had a weak immunologic response to the infection. Her depressed immunity was the result of prolonged corticosteroid therapy, compounded by malnutrition. In spite of this and other complications of corticosteroids, she made a full recovery from the fungal infection following treatment with amphotericin B and surgical excision of the lung abscess.