ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Introduction. Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by the dimorphic fungus known as Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. This entity compromises mainly the lungs, but can spread to other organs, with particular trophism, through oral mucosa, adrenal glands, lymph nodes, among others. Case presentation. This paper reports the case of a male patient with pulmonary PCM treated at the Hospital Universitario de Santander. The patient was admitted with initial suspicion of active pulmonary tuberculosis due to the presence of multiple cavitations and nodules of random distribution in the lung parenchyma observed in the chest tomography, and subsequent isolation of yeasts compatible with Paracoccidioides. Amphotericin B deoxycholate was administered without favorable outcomes and development of septic shock by extended spectrum Klebsiella pneumoniae. In spite of multi-conjugate antibiotic management, the patient presented multiple organ failure syndrome with fatal outcome at 21 days of hospitalization. Conclusion. Pulmonary PCM is an endemic disease that leads to an inadequate immune response of the host that -along with risk factors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, malnutrition and low socioeconomic status- facilitates the onset of life-threatening infections or coexisting diseases. Timely diagnosis based on early clinical suspicion potentially influences the patient's survival.