Surgical Resection to Treat a Japanese Patient with Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis

Abstract

Coccidioidomycosis is an endemic disease that is particularly prevalent in the United States. However, its geographic distribution is becoming widespread. Here, we present a Japanese male who resided in the United States for 1 year, where he was diagnosed with pulmonary coccidioidomycosis that was accompanied by cavity formation. He did not tolerate antifungal therapy and consequently underwent partial resection of the upper lobe of his left lung upon his return to Japan. The patient’s symptoms improved after surgery. The trend toward global networking and logistics means that a diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis should be considered in routine practice in nonendemic areas. Due to the rarity of surgical treatment for this disease, prolonged follow-up is necessary. During the last follow-up, the patient was symptom-free.

Keywords:

• coccidioidomycosis
• Coccidioides immitis
• Coccidioides posadasii
• endemic disease

Ethical Approval

Official approval for the study was obtained in advance from the Ethics Committee at Showa University (approved number 22-224-B).

Patient Consent for Publication

The patient provided written informed consent for publication of the case details and any accompanying images.

Acknowledgments

We thank the Department of Chemotherapy and Mycoses, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan, and the Department of Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan, for performing the fungal culture and DNA sequencing and the pathological diagnosis, respectively.

Author Contributions

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

We declare that we have no conflict of interest in connection with this paper, and we received no payment or services from a third party in relation to this study.

Additional information

Funding

No funding sources.