Pulmonary venous invasion, determined by chest computed tomographic scan, as a potential early indicator of zygomycosis infection: a case series.

Zygomycosis is a life-threatening fungal infection, and its successful treatment requires early diagnosis. To establish radiologic and clinical criteria for early diagnosis, we reviewed 3 post-mortem cases with zygomycosis secondary to hematological diseases. In all cases, an irregular dilatation of pulmonary veins on computed tomography suggested venous invasion by fungal hyphae, which was confirmed at autopsy. In addition, serum samples tested negative for the Aspergillus galactomannan antigen in all cases. These distinguishing radiologic and clinical features may contribute to an earlier diagnosis; more radical treatments, such as amphotericin-B or pulmonary resection; and a more successful outcome for patients with zygomycosis.