Pulmonary disease in paracoccidioidomycosis is very common and in some cases can be the sole manifestation of the disease. We studied the findings observed in 30 patients with pulmonary paracoccidioidomycosis submitted to high-resolution computed tomography in order to determine the most frequent findings, presentation patterns and distribution of paracoccidioidomycosis lesions in the lungs. The most frequent findings observed on high-resolution computed tomography were: interlobular septal thickening (96.7%), ground-glass opacities (66.7%), nodules (60%), irregular air-space enlargement (56.7%), bronchial wall thickening (46.7%), pleural thickening (36.7%), cavitation (36.7%), tracheal dilatation (33.3%), architectural distortion (30%), air-space consolidation (30%), parenchymal bands (23.3%), intralobular reticulate (13.3%) and hilar interstitial thickening (10%). Chest X-rays allow limited evaluation of diffuse pulmonary diseases, and hence high-resolution computed tomography is an essential method for studying patients with pulmonary paracoccidioidomycosis.
Paracoccidioidomycosis; High-resolution computed tomography; Pulmonary mycosis
