부산대학교 도서관

We experienced a case of bronchopulmonary aspergillosis associated with splenic candidiasis and tried to diagnose the proliferative fungus in the lung as Aspergillus (the second most frequently found pathogenic fungus of visceral mycosis next to Candida), based only on the morphological features.The patient, a 43-year-old female, was found to be suffering from recurrent acute promyelocytic leukemia and subsequently died. Autopsy revealed Aspergillus pneumonia of the middle and lower lobes of the right lung, and also hemorrhagic pleuritis. A simple cavity was detected in the left upper lobe which included necrotic material. We could verify by smear cytology that the necrotic material of the adherent portion and that inside the cavity included Aspergillus mycelia. Those were Y-formed dichotomous mycelia showing a progressive pattern of proliferation. However, histological examination of the histologic sections did not provide enough information about the fungal shape to recognize Aspergillus. Candidal structure was also observed more clearly by smear cytology than in the histological specimens.Therefore, smear cytology seems very useful in the diagnosis of fungal infection, especially Aspergillus infection, and should be routinely adopted in any such cases of fungal infection.