Bronchopulmonary candidiasis in a tertiary referral hospital of Assam, India.

One hundred patients with chronic chest infection suffering for more than three months admitted into a tertiary referral Hospital, northeast India were examined for pulmonary mycoses. The morning sputum samples in 3 consecutive days with a throat swab of each patient were examined for detection, isolation and identification of the fungus. Study showed Pulmonary candidiasis in 50% of the patients where Candida albicans were having highest incidence of association followed by 5 other species of Candida. Pre-existing conditions like pulmonary tuberculosis, bronchogenic carcinoma, lung abscess, bronchial asthma make the lungs prone to be invaded by the candida species. Long term antibiotics and steroids therapy was found to be associated with pulmonary candidiasis. Other conditions like irradiation treatment, malignancy, diabetes mellitus and malnutrition were also found to be the predisposing factors which influence bronchopulmonary candidiasis.