Treatment of coccidioidomycosis-associated eosinophilic pneumonia with corticosteroids

Abstract

Pulmonary coccidioidomycosis is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in endemic areas of the southwestern United States. The clinical spectrum of this disease ranges from an asymptomatic presentation to severe disease with ARDS and hypoxemic respiratory failure. Despite evidence supporting the use of corticosteroids for severe pulmonary disease in other fungal infections, there is currently no established role for this therapy in coccidioidomycosis infections. Peripheral eosinophilia is a common feature of coccidioidomycosis; however, pulmonary eosinophilia is rarely reported. In the setting of pulmonary eosinophilia of other etiologies, corticosteroid therapy has been demonstrated to have a role in reducing the inflammatory response and leading to a more rapid resolution of hypoxemic respiratory failure. We report a case of a patient with primary pulmonary coccidioidomycosis complicated by severe pulmonary eosinophilia that demonstrated rapid improvement after the initiation of corticosteroid therapy.

Keywords

• coccidioidomycosis
• corticosteroids
• eosinophilic pneumonia
• eosinophils
• pulmonary eosinophilia