A resected case of chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioidoma)

Abstract

The patient was a 24-year-old male of US nationality. He had been in Arizona in the US for 5 years before visiting Japan as an English teacher. Chest CT showed a well-defined round nodule measuring 2.0 cm in diameter in the right lower lobe. He underwent partial resection of the lung employing VATS. Coccidioides immitis was detected in the resected specimen, and he was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioidoma). Although the incidence of coccidioidomycosis has increased in Japan, the overall level of awareness of this type of afferent mycosis is still unsatisfactory. The careful examination of patients with a history of visiting or living in endemic areas is therefore warranted.