[4] Acute pulmonary histoplasmosis (APH) in returning travelers typically presents as a flu-like illness

with high-grade fever, chills, headache, nonproductive cough, pleuritic chest pain, and fatigue.[2] Chest radiographs often show diffuse reticulonodular infiltrates and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Symptom onset is usually 1–3 weeks following exposure and most individuals recover spontaneously within 3 weeks.[2] Disseminated disease is a rare complication, more likely to occur in persons with severely impaired cellular immunity. The diagnosis of APH in returning travelers is usually made by serology.[2] Complement fixation and immunodiffusion are the most widely used PCI-32765 research buy methods. Serology tests peak approximately 4–6 weeks after the onset of infection and are typically negative in the first month, thus it is important to obtain paired acute and convalescent samples.[3] The sensitivity for acute pneumonia with Decitabine diffuse infiltrates is 40%–80%.[3] Serological tests are less useful in immunosuppressed patients, of whom up to 40% do not mount a measurable antibody response.[3] Antibodies may persist for several years after acute infection and low false-positive complement fixation titers are attributed to previous asymptomatic infection in endemic areas.[3] Histoplasma polysaccharide antigen can be detected

in urine, serum, cerebrospinal fluid, or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, but antigen tests are not available in all countries. The diagnostic yield is highest when both urine and serum are tested.[5] In a recent evaluation

of 130 patients with APH, antigen detection was 82.8% in the subset in whom both urine and serum were tested.[5] As with serological tests, cross-reactivity can occur with other endemic mycoses such as blastomycosis and coccidioidomycosis.[4] Culture (on Sabouraud’s dextrose agar) provides the strongest evidence for diagnosis but requires invasive sampling and has low sensitivity in mild disease.[3, 4] Typical histopathological appearances in biopsied lung are caseating granulomas and characteristic budding yeast forms.[3] The Infectious Diseases Society of America has developed guidelines for the treatment of histoplasmosis.[6] Antifungal treatment is not usually indicated for mild to moderate APH in immunocompetent persons. For patients who continue to have symptoms Rebamipide for >1 month, itraconazole is recommended.[6] Patients with moderately severe to severe APH should receive liposomal amphotericin B followed by itraconazole.[6] Methylprednisolone is advised during the first 1–2 weeks if there are respiratory complications, including hypoxemia or significant respiratory distress.[6] Patients with disseminated disease and those with underlying immunosuppression should receive a longer duration of therapy.[2, 6] Outbreaks of histoplasmosis have been increasingly reported in association with travel to endemic areas.