[Disseminated histoplasmosis in children].

Disseminated histoplasmosis is a rare and severe form of the infection due to the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. This form of disease is seen mainly in patients with some sort of immune deficiency either primary or secondary, in children under two years and in elderly people. An autopsy review at the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez disclosed eight cases of lethal disseminated histoplasmosis in an eight year period. All patients were malnourished, one of them also had a primary immunodeficiency an another had acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The age range was from two months to seven years; five patients were males. The organs more frequently affected were lungs, liver and spleen. In seven patients the diagnosis was established at postmortem study. The patients came from Morelos, Veracruz, Guerrero and Chiapas, regions considered endemic for histoplasmosis. A careful analysis of the clinical symptoms together with a detailed information of the living environment of patients, will lead to an accurate diagnosis and management of children with this disease.