Inderpaul Singh Sehgal1, Hansraj Choudhary2, Sahajal Dhooria1, Ashutosh Nath Aggarwal1, Mandeep Garg3, Arunaloke Chakrabarti2, Ritesh Agarwal4. 1. Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. 2. Department of Medical Microbiology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. 3. Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. 4. Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. Electronic address: agarwal.ritesh@outlook.in.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) are presumed to represent 2 distinct manifestations of Aspergillus species in the lung. OBJECTIVE: To investigate any possible overlap of the immunological tests used for diagnosing ABPA in proven cases of CPA. METHODS: In consecutive subjects with CPA, we calculated the proportion of subjects who tested positive for all the immunological investigations used to diagnose ABPA (Aspergillus fumigatus specific IgE >0.35 kUA/L, total IgE ≥500 IU/mL, and eosinophil count ≥500 cells/μL) or obligatory criteria (A. fumigatus specific IgE >0.35 kUA/L and total IgE ≥500 IU/mL). RESULTS: A total of 269 subjects (53.5% males) of CPA with the mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 44.3 (14.7) years were enrolled. The most common underlying disease was previously treated pulmonary tuberculosis (n = 230, 85.5%). Ninety-three (34.6%) subjects had total IgE ≥500 IU/mL, whereas A. fumigatus specific IgE >0.35 kUA/L was seen in 112 (41.6%) subjects. Thirteen (4.8%) subjects met all the immunological criteria for ABPA, whereas 59 (21.9%) subjects met the obligatory criteria. Subjects meeting the obligatory criteria had significantly higher eosinophil count (P ≤ .0001), greater immediate cutaneous reactivity to Aspergillus antigen (CPA-others vs obligatory criteria, 9.8 ± 13.9 vs 13.9 ± 14.9 mm, P value = .048), higher A. fumigatus specific IgG (99.3 ± 61.9 vs 122 ± 66.6 mgA/L, P = .015), and greater number of fungal balls (0.9 ± 0.7 [range, 0-3] vs 1.1 ± 0.9 [range, 0-4], P = .026) compared with those without. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 5% of subjects with CPA fulfilled all the immunological criteria used for diagnosing ABPA, whereas 22% met the obligatory criteria for ABPA. Whether these patients would require a different management protocol requires further investigation.
BACKGROUND:Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) are presumed to represent 2 distinct manifestations of Aspergillus species in the lung. OBJECTIVE: To investigate any possible overlap of the immunological tests used for diagnosing ABPA in proven cases of CPA. METHODS: In consecutive subjects with CPA, we calculated the proportion of subjects who tested positive for all the immunological investigations used to diagnose ABPA (Aspergillus fumigatus specific IgE >0.35 kUA/L, total IgE ≥500 IU/mL, and eosinophil count ≥500 cells/μL) or obligatory criteria (A. fumigatus specific IgE >0.35 kUA/L and total IgE ≥500 IU/mL). RESULTS: A total of 269 subjects (53.5% males) of CPA with the mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 44.3 (14.7) years were enrolled. The most common underlying disease was previously treated pulmonary tuberculosis (n = 230, 85.5%). Ninety-three (34.6%) subjects had total IgE ≥500 IU/mL, whereas A. fumigatus specific IgE >0.35 kUA/L was seen in 112 (41.6%) subjects. Thirteen (4.8%) subjects met all the immunological criteria for ABPA, whereas 59 (21.9%) subjects met the obligatory criteria. Subjects meeting the obligatory criteria had significantly higher eosinophil count (P ≤ .0001), greater immediate cutaneous reactivity to Aspergillus antigen (CPA-others vs obligatory criteria, 9.8 ± 13.9 vs 13.9 ± 14.9 mm, P value = .048), higher A. fumigatus specific IgG (99.3 ± 61.9 vs 122 ± 66.6 mgA/L, P = .015), and greater number of fungal balls (0.9 ± 0.7 [range, 0-3] vs 1.1 ± 0.9 [range, 0-4], P = .026) compared with those without. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 5% of subjects with CPA fulfilled all the immunological criteria used for diagnosing ABPA, whereas 22% met the obligatory criteria for ABPA. Whether these patients would require a different management protocol requires further investigation.
Authors: Ritesh Agarwal; Inderpaul S Sehgal; Sahajal Dhooria; Valliappan Muthu; Kuruswamy T Prasad; Amanjit Bal; Ashutosh N Aggarwal; Arunaloke Chakrabarti Journal: Indian J Med Res Date: 2020-06 Impact factor: 2.375