Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis with endobronchial signs: Two cases.

Abstract

Pulmonary aspergillosis may be classified under three categories depending on whether the patient is atopic or immunocompromised: invasive, chronic necrotizing, and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), which is an immunological pulmonary disorder caused by hypersensitivity to Aspergillus spp., manifesting with poorly controlled asthma. ABPA is diagnosed using major and minor criteria. Herein, we present two ABPA cases with endobronchial signs on bronchoscopy. Asthmatic 31-year-old male and 59-year-old female patients were admitted with dyspnea and bilateral rhonchi. Total IgE levels were elevated. Peripheral eosinophilia was also present. Chest computed tomography revealed consolidated areas, peribronchial micronodules, ground-glass appearance, and increased nodular densities. Bronchoscopy showed brownish-yellow membranes on the bronchial mucosa of these patients. Aspergillus spp. growth was observed in bronchial lavage culture. ABPA is a curable disease only if diagnosed correctly. Notwithstanding the large number of cases reported to date, we aimed to emphasize the importance of bronchoscopic examination in endobronchial fungal infections.