Abstract
Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease endemic in semi-arid areas of North, Central, and South America. This study describes the clinicopathological features of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in five otherwise healthy Japanese individuals. All patients had returned to Japan from the USA and were pointed out as having abnormal shadows on chest X-rays during routine medical examinations. High-resolution CT scan showed a well-defined homogenous nodule or mass adjacent to the pleura. All patients underwent surgical wedge resection. Histopathological examination revealed encapsulated caseating epithelioid cell granulomas containing spherules and endospores characteristic of coccidioidomycosis. Pulmonary coccidioidomycosis is still very rare in Japan, but recently the incidence of the disease has greatly increased. It is important to consider coccidioidomycosis as one of the differential diagnoses when the travel history, symptoms, and HRCT findings are typical.
