Candida pneumonia in young and immunocompetent lady: A case report and literature review.

Background: Candida is a frequent respiratory tract colonizer. True candida pneumonia is rare and seen with predominance in immunosuppressed patients. Our aim is to document a previously unreported case of Candida pneumonia in a young and immunocompetent patient, highlighting, an unusual pathological manifestation of this infection in immunocompetent individuals. Case summary: We report a previously healthy young lady who remained symptomatic with fever, cough and shortness of breath for three weeks duration despite treatment with extensive antibiotics regimen for community acquired pneumonia. She was eventually treated as a probable, rare case of candida pneumonia. The patient demonstrated a dramatic response to single antifungal treatment both clinically and biochemically within the first 24hrs of treatment. Candida albican was isolated on repetitive cultures form the sputum and bronchoalevolar lavage samples. The patient had negative blood cultures. Her HRCT scan revealed bilateral basal air space opacities with peri bronchovascular distribution and centrilobular nodules with branching pattern suggestive of tree in bud predominantly in lower lobes. Her endobronchial biopsies was mostly unremarkable apart from rare non-necrotizing granuloma. Conclusion: Candida can rarely cause clinically significant pneumonia in immunocompetent patients and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of granulomatous lung disease.

Etiology of pleural effusion among adults in the state of Qatar: a l-year hospital-based study.

There have been no systematic studies of diseases causing pleural effusion in Qatar. This prospective, hospital-based study involved all adult patients (> 15 years) with pleural effusions who were admitted to referral hospitals over a 1-year period. A total of 200 cases of pleural effusion were identified (152 males and 48 females); mean age 45.1 (SD 18.5) years. A majority of patients (73.5%) were non-Qataris, mostly from the Asian subcontinent. The most frequent cause of pleural effusions was tuberculosis (32.5%), followed by pneumonia (19%), cancer (15.5%) and cardiac failure (13%). The most frequent cause of malignant effusion was bronchogenic carcinoma (38.7%), whereas Gram-positive organisms were the most frequent isolates from empyema fluid (62.5%). Histological examination and culture of pleural biopsy were the most useful diagnostic workup for tuberculosis effusions, whereas repeated cytological examination of pleural fluid and pleural biopsy were most useful for malignant effusions.

Etiology of pleural effusion among adults in the State of Qatar: a 1-year hospital-based study

There have been no systematic studies of diseases causing pleural effusion in Qatar. This prospective, hospital-based study involved all adult patients [> 15 years] with pleural effusions who were admitted to referral hospitals over a 1-year period. A total of 200 cases of pleural effusion were identified [152 males and 48 females]; mean age 45.1 [SD 18.5] years. A majority of patients [73.5%] were non-Qataris, mostly from the Asian subcontinent. The most frequent cause of pleural effusions was tuberculosis [32.5%], followed by pneumonia [19%], cancer [15.5%] and cardiac failure [13%]. The most frequent cause of malignant effusion was bronchogenic carcinoma [38.7%], whereas Gram-positive organisms were the most frequent isolates from empyema fluid [62.5%]. Histological examination and culture of pleural biopsy were the most useful diagnostic workup for tuberculosis effusions, whereas repeated cytological examination of pleural fluid and pleural biopsy were most useful for malignant effusions