Chest 2023 Oct 07
A Diagnostic Approach to Fungal Pneumonia: An Infectious Diseases Perspective.   
ABSTRACT
Although bacteria significantly exceed fungi as the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infection, the incidence of fungal pneumonia is increasing because of a growing at-risk population of immunocompromised individuals as well as anthropogenic global heating and environmental disruption. When a patient presents with a clinical syndrome of pneumonia, a constellation of factors must be considered to determine the probability of a fungal pneumonia, including host factors, epidemiologic exposures, suggestive radiographic patterns, and the presence of a non-resolving pneumonia. In addition, knowledge of clinically important fungal pathogens, their epidemiology, and associated clinical syndromes are key in guiding appropriate diagnostic testing and result interpretation, and ultimately rendering a correct diagnosis of a fungal pneumonia. This article aims to provide a framework for the evaluation and appropriate diagnostic testing of patients with suspected fungal pneumonia.

Related Questions

Considering the recent article in CHEST that describes the increasing incidence of fungal pneumonia Azar. Chest 2024