Thoracic radiologic aspects in paracoccidioidomycosis

Abstract

In this paper the authors analyse 159 radiographs from paracocidioidomycosis patients seen at the Evandro Chagas Hospital/Fiocruz in the period between January 1960 to December 1988. Twenty four cases (15.09%) of association with tuberculosis were observed; one with pneumoconicosis; one with aspergillosis, and two with carcinoma. Twenty cases were excluded from the radiologic analisis: in 8 of these the diagnosis of tuberculosis occured concomitantly, and in 12 patients, lung fibrosis due to previous treatment for tuberculosis or paracoccidioidomycosis was present in. the 139 remaining cases, the radiographic abnormalities encountered were grouped according to the predominance of lesions at the various lung sites, if alveolar or interstitial, according to Magalhães' (1982) classification modified by the authors: infiltrate 55 cases (39.6%); mist 28 (20.1%); pneumonic 23 (16.6%); nodular 16 (11.5%); micronodular 10 (7.2%), and fibrotic 7 (5.0%). In 113 cases it was possible to follow the regression of the pulmonary process radiologically. In 85 (75.2%) patients, regression took place within 6 months; in 17 (15.0%) cases between 7 and 12 months; in 4 (3.5%) between 13 and 24 months, and in 7 (6.1%) cases no changes in the radiographic pattern were noted