Abstract
The optimal treatment strategy for pulmonary aspergillosis (PA) remains controversial. Surgical resection is considered the most effective for aspergilloma. However, surgical resection is associated with marked mortality and morbidity. We investigated whether combining postoperative antifungal pharmacotherapy with surgical resection could yield a better outcome than surgery alone in patients with PA. Thirteen patients with pulmonary aspergillosis treated surgically at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed for clinical characteristics, preoperative treatment, operative methods, adjuvant antifungal treatment, and outcomes. All cases had an underlying disease, with respiratory disease in 11 patients. Five patients were treated with antifungal agents preoperatively. Non-antifungal pharmacotherapy as adjuvant therapy was performed in 10 cases. The average postoperative observation period was 879 days, with no recurrence in any of the cases.
We believe that antifungal pharmacotherapy may be unnecessary for cases of definitive mycetoma removal in PA patients with non-adjuvant antifungal therapy in whom there is no recurrence.
