Skip to main content
PMC home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1981 Oct;36(10):745–751. doi: 10.1136/thx.36.10.745

Pulmonary aspergillus infection invading the pleura.

G Hillerdal
PMCID: PMC471748  PMID: 7330792

Abstract

During a 10-year-period, six patients with non-postoperative aspergillus infection of the pleura were seen. In all patients a pulmonary aspergillus infection had been present for some years. The fungus invaded the pleura, causing a bronchopleural fistula and a cavity in the pleural space. A prerequisite for the pleural aspergillosis was that the lung and pleura were previously damaged, usually by therapeutic pneumothorax for active tuberculosis some decades earlier. The fungus can cause destruction of the lung and death of the patient from the chronic infection unless treated. The best treatment is early excision of the pleura with resection of the upper lobe or if necessary the whole lung. To reduce the risk of postoperative aspergillus empyema, the patient should be treated with antifungal agents before and after operation. In inoperable patients, local antifungal treatment may clear the infection but is not always effective.

Full text

PDF
751

Images in this article

747Image
on p.747
748Image
on p.748
748Image
on p.748
749Image
on p.749
749Image
on p.749
750Image
on p.750
750Image
on p.750

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bariéty M., Poulet J., Almosni M. Aspergillose pleurale survenue douze ans après une aspergillose pulmonaire traitée par lobectomie. J Fr Med Chir Thorac. 1969 Feb-Mar;23(2):137–146. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Davies D., Somner A. R. Pulmonary aspergillomas treated with corticosteroids. Thorax. 1972 Mar;27(2):156–162. doi: 10.1136/thx.27.2.156. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. FOURCHON J., LANCESTRE G. ASPERGILLOME PLEURAL. J Fr Med Chir Thorac. 1964 Sep-Oct;18:679–688. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. FREOUR P., LAUMONIER P., CARRE J. C., POTAUX L., MORVAN A. [On a voluminous intra-pleural aspergilloma]. J Fr Med Chir Thorac. 1963 May-Jun;17:419–425. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Henderson A. H., English M. P., Vecht R. J. Pulmonary aspergillosis. A survey of its occurrence in patients with chronic lung disease and a discussion of the significance of diagnostic tests. Thorax. 1968 Sep;23(5):513–518. doi: 10.1136/thx.23.5.513. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Herring M., Pecora D. Pleural aspergillosis: a case report. Am Surg. 1976 Apr;42(4):300–302. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hilvering C., Stevens E. A., Orie N. G. Fever in aspergillus mycetoma. Thorax. 1970 Jan;25(1):19–24. doi: 10.1136/thx.25.1.19. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Katz A. S., Weiss W., Steinberg A. The migrating mycetoma. Br J Dis Chest. 1977 Oct;71(4):289–294. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Krakówka P., Rowińska E., Halweg H. Infection of the pleura by Aspergillus fumigatus. Thorax. 1970 Mar;25(2):245–253. doi: 10.1136/thx.25.2.245. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Libshitz H. I., Atkinson G. W., Israel H. L. Pleural thickening as a manifestation of aspergillus superinfection. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med. 1974 Apr;120(4):883–886. doi: 10.2214/ajr.120.4.883. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. MONOD O., DIEUDONNE P., TARDIEU P. LES ASPERGILLOSES PULMONAIRES POST-OP'ERATOIRES. J Fr Med Chir Thorac. 1964 Jul-Aug;18:579–590. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Meredith H. C., Cogan B. M., McLaulin B. Pleural aspergillosis. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1978 Jan;130(1):164–166. doi: 10.2214/ajr.130.1.164. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. ORIE N. G., DE VRIES G. A., KIKSTRA A. Growth of Aspergillus in the human lung. Aspergilloma and aspergillosis. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1960 Nov;82:649–662. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1960.82.5.649. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Pesle G. D., Hummel J., Triboulet F. Aspergillose pleurale. Rev Tuberc Pneumol (Paris) 1967 Nov;31(7):1079–1082. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sors C., Gonnot G., Toty L. Aspergillose pleurale. A propos d'un cas d'aspergillome pleural géant (450 g). Rev Fr Mal Respir. 1979 Jan-Feb;7(1):66–68. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Stevens E. A., Hilvering C., Orie N. G. Inhalation experiments with extracts of Aspergillus fumigatus on patients with allergic aspergillosis and aspergilloma. Thorax. 1970 Jan;25(1):11–18. doi: 10.1136/thx.25.1.11. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. TARDIEU P., DIEUDONNE P., MONOD O., ATCHOARENA J. B. ASPERGILLOMES PLEURAUX. J Fr Med Chir Thorac. 1964 Jul-Aug;18:591–596. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Turner-Warwick M. Aspergillus fumigatus and lung disease. Postgrad Med J. 1979 Sep;55(647):642–644. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.55.647.642. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Voisin C., Sergeant Y. H., Macquet V., Wallaert C., Wattel F., Salomon J. L. L'aspergillose pleurale (aspects étiologiques, anatomo-cliniques et thérapeutiques: à propos de 15 observations) Rev Tuberc Pneumol (Paris) 1969;33(4):477–486. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES