Ward Carla M, Zuromskis Peter J, Ives David V, Sheikh Javed
Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, USA.
Allergy Asthma Proc. 2007 May-Jun;28(3):382-7. doi: 10.2500/aap.2007.28.2969.
There is a broad differential for patients presenting with fever, eosinophilia, and pneumonia. We present a case of a 48-year-old man who presented with recurrent fever, pleuritic chest pain, and cough. His medical history was significant for a recent trip to Arizona. A chest X ray showed a right lower lobe infiltrate and CT examination of the chest showed extensive mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Tissue culture from a biopsy specimen of the mediastinal lymph nodes revealed growth of Coccidioides immitis and a diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis was made. He was treated with a total of a 9-month course of itraconazole and has remained disease free for >2 years. This case shows how a careful history and evaluation will direct the clinician to the correct diagnosis.