Pneumonia with marked pleural effusion caused by Aspergillus infection.

We present a case of pneumonia with marked pleural effusion caused by Aspergillus infection in a 2-year-old Japanese girl with Down's syndrome. The patient was previously diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, developing the pneumonia during induction treatment. Although no pathogens could be isolated from any clinical specimens, 135,000 copies/mL of Aspergillus DNA were detected in the pleural fluid using real time polymerase chain reaction. The copy numbers of DNA decreased rapidly after appropriate antifungal treatment.