Candida pneumonia: experience with 20 patients.

Case reports of 20 patients with histologic evidence of Candida pneumonia at autopsy were studied retrospectively. Most of the patients had had malignant conditions or immunosuppressive disorders, or had been treated by immunosuppressive agents such as steroids. Clinical findings included cough, purulent sputum and invariable hypoxia. Of the 20 patients, 14 had positive sputum cultures, 6 had positive blood cultures and 6 had positive urine cultures for Candida organisms. Findings on chest radiographs of most of the patients showed diffuse bronchopneumonia with confluent areas of air space consolidation. Five patients had been suspected of having Candida pneumonia and were treated empirically with amphotericin B, but none survived.