[A case report of pulmonary infiltration with eosinophilia syndrome induced by Candida albicans].

A sixty six-year-old female who had been treated for bronchial asthma for about 25 years was admitted to the hospital with complaints of episodes of dyspnea, eosinophilia and infiltrative shadows in the chest X-ray film. An infiltrative shadow appeared to move from the left to the right lung field and finally formed a shadow of atelectasis in the middle field of the right lung. A sputum culture showed only Candida albicans. Allergic and immunologic examination revealed high IgE serum levels with specific IgE against Candida albicans in high titer, and Aspergillus fumigatus in low titer. The precipitating antibody was shown only against Candida antigen. Additionally, the blastogenic response to Candida antigen was high in comparison with other fungal antigens including Aspergillus fumigatus. The clinical features and laboratory findings of this patient were found to satisfy Rosenberg's criteria for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), except for the existence of Candida albicans in place of Aspergillus species as the causative antigen. The pathogenesis of PIE syndrome has been studied and various allergic mechanisms against many antigens reported. In this patient Candida albicans could be playing the crucial role in the formation of PIE syndrome, which might be best described as allergic bronchopulmonary candidiasis (ABPC).