Blastomycosis history and symptoms
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: ; Vidit Bhargava, M.B.B.S [2]
Symptoms
Blastomycosis can present in one of the following ways:
- A flu like illness with fever, chills, myalgia, headache, and a nonproductive cough which resolves within days.
- An acute illness resembling bacterial pneumonia, with symptoms of high fever, chills, a productive cough, and pleuritis.
- A chronic illness that mimics tuberculosis, other fungal infections or lung cancer, with symptoms of low-grade fever, a productive cough, night sweats, hemoptysis and weight loss.
- A fast, progressive, and severe disease that manifests as Acute respiratory distress syndomeARDS, with fever, shortness of breath, tachypnea, hypoxemia, and diffuse pulmonary infiltrates.
- Skin lesions, usually asymptomatic, appear as ulcerated lesions with small pustules at the margins or they can be verrucous with irregular margins, and color ranging from gray to violet. Skin lesions are usually a result of hematogenous spread but sometimes they can be inoculated directly due to animal bite (pet dogs).
- Bone lesions can lead to osteomyelitis, which can damage underlying bone and overlying skin leading to discharging sinuses. It presents with fever, bone pain, etc. Acute or chronic arthritis can develop due to underlying osteomyelitis.
- Prostatitis in men may be asymptomatic or may cause pain on urinating, in women genito-urinary system involvement can lead to tubo-ovarian abscess or endometritis.
- Laryngeal involvement causes hoarseness.
- CNS(central nervous system) involvement can lead to meningtis, abscess, which can lead to focal neurological deficit's.
- Blastomycosis can include almost any other site such as liver, spleen, breast, lymph nodes etc.[1]