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Pleural Effusion due to Histoplasma capsulatum and Idiopathic CD4 Lymphocytopenia by C. Kortsik; A. Elmer; I. Tamm is a Medicine article available to read on EtoBox.

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Acute histoplasmosis is usually a benign, self-limited infection in endemic areas. Since protection against __Histoplasma capsulatum__ infection requires specific, cell-mediated immunity, histoplasmosis is well documented in patients with acquired T cell deficiencies e.g. due to HIV infection. We report here for the first time a case of pleural effusion due to __H. capsulatum__ infection in a patient with idiopathic CD4 lymphocytopenia (ICL). A 25-year-old woman presented with chest pain, dyspnea on exertion and a moderate weight loss. Chest X-ray showed a large left pleural effusion, and thoracentesis yielded an exudate. Histologic examination of pleural biopsies identified __H. capsulatum__. Laboratory tests revealed lymphocytopenia with low CD4+ T cell counts (<100/μl) and a decreased CD4/CD8 ratio. Serology, including HIV, was repeatedly negative. The diagnosis of pleural effusion due to __H. capsulatum__ infection in a patient with idiophatic ICL was established. There was no evidence of any other opportunistic infection. Treatment with itraconazole was initiated and pleural effusion resolved within 2 weeks of treatment. Moreover, the patient was found to have idiopathic throm

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Author

C. Kortsik; A. Elmer; I. Tamm

Publisher

S. Karger AG; Karger AG (ISSN 0025-7931)

Published

2003

Language

EN

Field

Medicine (Health Sciences)