Paracoccidioidomicosis: Clinical Considerations, Epidemiology and Treatment

• Main Authors: Jesús Dawaher, María Teresa Colella, Arantza Roselló, Celina Pérez, Carolina Olaizola, Willy Newman, María Eugenia Landaeta, Luisana Rangel, Sofía Mata Essayag
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Universidad del Zulia,Facultad de Medicina,Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Tropicales 2012
• Subjects: paracoccidioidomicosis; micosis endémica; paracoccidioides brasiliensis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/2a3d42e709dc4034b63fe3cc56731193

Objective: to characterize from the clinical, epidemiological and treatment viewpoints, patients diagnosed with paracoccidioidomycosis and evaluated in the outpatient clinic of the Medical Mycology Section, at the IMT-UCV and from other hospitals in the greater Caracas area, whose samples were processed in this section between 2001-2011. Methods: descriptive study of records, taking into account the histories of patients diagnosed with paracoccidioidomicosis. Results: the male:female ratio obtained was 6.5:1; only 29.16% of the patients had agricultural occupations. The most common symptoms were cough (50%) and weight loss (45.06%), and the most common signs were oropharyngeal lesions (53.6%) and adenopathy (27.2%). Concomitantly, 7.65% had HIV/AIDS infection, 5.61% tuberculosis and 6.63% histoplasmosis. In terms of diagnosis, the direct exam was positive in 87.5% of cases, the culture in 62.90% and serology in 88.46%. Overall mortality was 4.11%. Discussion: paracoccidioidomycosis is a disease that can occur in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients; currently, it tends to appear more frequently inpatients with AIDS. The number of cases among female patients has increased. Research about the place of birth, the origin and the occupation of the patient is important when considering the diagnosis; this should be taken into consideration in an endemic country like Venezuela. Its diagnosis is relatively easy in the hands of trained personnel.