Clinical features of invasive bronchial-pulmonary aspergillosis in critically ill patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases / 中华临床感染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the clinical features of invasive bronchial-pulmonary aspergillosis (IBPA) in critically ill patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).Methods Clinical data of 7 COPD patients complicated with IBPA from respiratory intensive care unit (RICU) in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital during April 2006 and August 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.Results All patients were treated with several kinds of broad-spectrum antibiotics and 6 patients were also treated with large dose of corticosteroids before their admission to RICU.The most frequent clinical manifestations were fever,persistent bronchospasm induced dyspnea and bilateral wheezing which were unresponsive to large doses of corticosteroids and broad-spectrum antibiotics.In 5 patients with both aspergillus tracheobronchitis (ATB) and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA),bronchoscopy showed tracheobronchial inflammation,bronchospasm,phlegm and bronchial pseudomembrane formation.All these 5 patients had a rapid progression from normal to infiltrates or consolidation in chest X-ray,and died of respiratory failure or multiple organ failure.The other 2 cases were diagnosed with ATB and received prophylactic antifungal treatments before infiltrates were shown on their chest X-ray.Both of them survived.Conclusions In COPD patients combined with IBPA,ATB may progress rapidly to IPA which affect lung parenchyma and lead a high mortality.Bronchoscopy and bronchial mucous biopsy may be helpful in early diagnosis and treatment.