2017 Volume 39 Issue 1 Pages 71-75
Background. Nodules, cavitations and consolidations are common radiological findings of pulmonary cryptococcosis, but ground-glass opacities (GGOs) are not. To our knowledge, Cryptococcus sp. has never been detected from GGOs in the literature. Case. A 63-year-old man, who underwent renal transplant 16 months previously, was admitted to our hospital because of nodules in the right lower lung lobe on chest computed tomography (CT). One month later, chest CT showed not only nodules but also multiple GGOs. Bronchoscopy was performed, and the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from the right B5, the segment where there was only a GGO and were not any nodular lesions, revealed Cryptococcus neoformans, leading to a diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis. He was treated with fosfluconazole and fluconazole, and the GGOs improved within a few weeks. Conclusion. This is the first report of pulmonary cryptococcosis in which Cryptococcus sp. was detected from a GGO. We should suspect this disease when we see a GGO on CT.
