To recognize two major CT presentation of pulmonary Trichosporonosis: “summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis” in immunosusceptible patients and “invasive pulmonary trichosporonosis” in immunocompromised patients with severe neutropenia.

Why Trichosporon spices emerge as clinically important organisms today? Trichosporon spices are basidiomycetous yeast-like anamorphic organisms in the natural soil, universally distributed from temperate to tropical area. For the human body, the organisms are usually colonized in the normal flora of mouth, nail, skin and gastro-intestines. The yeast-like pathogen may cause superficial, mucosa-associated, or deep-seated infection, and possibly contribute pulmonary diseases. In the lung, at least two distinct forms of disease expression have been known; “summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis (SHP)” as allergic pneumonia among outpatients, living...

1. Summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis (SHP). Chest radiography can be normal even in symptomatic patients and may shows non-specific findings with poorly defined, nodular, patchy, or diffuse opacities. Reticulo-nodular opacities may be observed in chronic SHP. The role of chest radiography is relatively limited in the diagnosis of SHP, comparing to CT. CT findings of subacute SHP are often characteristic enough to strongly suggest the diagnosis by combinations of bilateral ground-glass opacities, centrilobular nodules, lobular areas of air-trapping. In most cases, ground-glass opacities are more prominent...

Pulmonary Trichosporonosis should be interpreted with attention to coexist CT findings with ground-glass opacities, based on the underlying immune reaction of patients.

1. Nakata H et al. Diffuse peripheral lung disease: evaluation by high-resolution computed tomography. Radiology. 1985 Oct;157(1):181-5. 2. Lynch DA et al. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis: sensitivity of high-resolution CT in a population-based study. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1992 Sep;159(3):469-72. 3. Adler BD et al. Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis: high-resolution CT and radiographic features in 16 patients. Radiology. 1992 Oct;185(1):91-5. 4. Yoshizawa Y et al. Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis in Japan: a nationwide epidemiologic survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1999 Feb;103(2 Pt 1):315-20. 5. Gemeinhardt H. Lung pathogenicity of...