Alternaria alternata in a case of mass in the lung.

ABSTRACT

A 50-year-old woman, an agriculture worker with diabetes and asthma presented to us with complaints of fever with chills, cough with scanty, mucopurulent sputum and dull aching chest pain in right mammary area radiating to axilla. Chest X-ray and computed tomography scan revealed mass in the right lung. Ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration cytology was done and the greenish fluid on direct wet mount and inoculation on Sabouraud's dextrose agar isolated Alternaria species. Serum specimen was evaluated for immunoglobulin E specific titres for Alternaria species which was high. Patient was treated with fluconazole for 6 weeks after which the symptoms disappeared and chest X-ray was normal.