Clinical features and high-resolution CT findings of pulmonary cryptococcosis in non-AIDS patients.

The objective of this study was to clarify clinical and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) characteristics in non-AIDS patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis. We analyzed the medical records and HRCT scans in 22 patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis from 1988 to 2003. Thirteen patients (59%) were immunocompetent and nine (41%) were immunosuppressed, seven of whom had diabetes mellitus. No patients exhibited extrapulmonary involvement. Nineteen patients (86%) were asymptomatic. Radiography revealed incidental chest abnormality in all but two patients. The typical HRCT findings were solitary or multiple nodules in the subpleural area. Cavitation was present in 30% of the patients who had nodules. The most frequently applied and reliable diagnostic procedure was video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Treatment included antifungal therapy alone in 11 patients, surgery alone in eight including four treated by VATS, surgery plus antifungal therapy in two and none in one. Patients who underwent surgery alone did not develop any relapse. The majority of non-AIDS patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis present with incidental chest radiographic abnormalities. The most common HRCT findings are solitary or multiple nodules with or without cavitation in the subpleural areas of the lung. VATS is a useful tool for both diagnosis and treatment of isolated pulmonary cryptococcosis.