[Disseminated histoplasmosis and AIDS. The role of culture medium for the bronchoscopic clinical specimens].

Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is a useful procedure in the diagnosis of histoplasmosis, when the clinical material is adequately processed. Ten cases of disseminated histoplasmosis in patients with AIDS are presented here, with a mycological evaluation in culture, Mycosel and Sabouraud's chloramphenicol agar of clinical specimens obtained through fiberoptic bronchoscopy. The yield of Mycosel culture was 60%, while in Sabouraud's chloramphenicol agar it was 20%, supporting the importance of selective medium in the isolation of Histoplasma capsulatum var capsulatum from potentially contaminated clinical specimens, as well as the importance of clinical information for the laboratory as the key for a correct diagnosis.