Tuberc Respir Dis.  1987 Mar;34(1):57-62. 10.4046/trd.1987.34.1.57.

Fungal Complication in Long Term Hospitalized Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis

• KMID: 2528672
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.1987.34.1.57

Abstract

An investigation into fungal complication in long term hospitalized patients (173) with pulmonary tuberculosis in Seoul City Seodaemoon Hospital has been made by immunodiffusion tests. sputum culture. and chest radiography Precipitating antibodies to the antigens of filamentous fungi were detected in sera from 25 patients (1 4.5%) and a definite or suspected fungus ball shadows were seen in chest X.rays of 8 patients of which one was apparently formed by A . flavus and all the others by A . fumigatus. Most commonly involved species was A . fumigatus (11.0%) P. boydii and A. nidulans were involved in one and four cases respectively. Positive immunodiffusion to filamentous fungal antigens were more common in sputum negative (tubercle bacil1i) patients and most often in cases wlth sputum negative cavities Some patients produced precipitin bands to more than one species mainly due to cross reactivity of antigens and rarely due to mixed infection with some other fungi. The 13 patients showed a positive reaction to C. albicans, which was more common in bacil1ary cases than in abacillary cases‘ however their relevance to the clinical symptoms could not be determined.