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Paediatric Pulmonology and Allergology
2005 April, Vol. VIII, No. 1 (2838-2845)
FUNGAL LUNG DISEASE IN CHILDREN
Anne Thomson
Department of Paediatrics of John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
Fungal lung disease in otherwise healthy children is rare. Disorder more often affects children with asthma, cystic fibrosis and compromised immunity. The most common cause of fungal lung disease is aspergillus. Aspergillus can cause three categories of disease: allergic aspergillosis (asthma, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and allergic alveolitis), colonising aspergillosis and invasive and disseminated aspergillosis. There are several diagnostic methods of aspergillosis (chest x-ray, serum IgE, aspergillus precipitants, skin prick tests, eosinophilia, sputum examination), but none of which by themselves are diagnostic. For management of acute exacerbation of aspergillosis oral prednisolone is the mainstay method, and for management of relapse of disease – oral prednisolone and add itraconazole. Others, more rare causes of fungal lung disease are Candida, Histoplasma capsulatum (Histoplasmosis) ir Coccioides immitis (Coccioidomycosis).