Pulmonary aspergillosis: therapeutic management and prognostic factors from 16 years of monocenter experience.

Twenty three patients of the University Hospital Bonn were reviewed following surgical procedures for pulmonary aspergilloma, including the choice of antifungal therapy, diagnostic findings, decision-making in treatment, and treatment outcomes of the past 16 years. We used pathological records to identify aspergilloma patients. A review of patients' records and follow-up phone calls to patients, families, or general practitioners were done. Data collected from 1995 to 2011 included patients with aspergilloma (n = 15), multiple aspergillomas (n = 2) and chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis (n = 6). Classification and diagnosis were based on pathological records. The decision to use systemic antimycotic therapy was based on perioperative findings suspecting parenchymal involvement of the fungal infection. Seventeen patients received systemic antimycotic chemotherapy. Compared with the use of Amphotericin B, newer drugs such as voriconazol, caspofungin, or posaconazol showed no better result in the morbidity and mortality of the patients. Postoperative complications requiring extended therapy and/or prolonged ICU stay (>48 h) were seen in 12 (52.2%) patients. During follow-up there were ten deaths; one death (4.4%) from aspergillus-associated sepsis, nine deaths from patients' underlying diseases (n = 4 within <3 months, n = 6 within >3 months of follow-up). In conclusion, in our cohort, immunocompromised patients with no documented preexisting lung-cavities were most likely to develop pulmonary aspergilloma. Postoperative morbidity (52.2%) was high, but related mainly to patient co-morbidity; postoperative mortality was reasonably low. Patients showing classical symptoms or immunocompromised patients should be considered for surgery. Encapsulated Aspergilloma without invasion of surrounding parenchyma requires no antifungal chemotherapy.