| Airways (tracheobronchial) - Updated June 2010 by Dr Sahlawati Mustakim |
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| Aspergillus tracheobronchitis is defined as an Aspergillus infection which is limited entirely or predominantly confined to the tracheobronchial tree. In addition, Denning suggested the term be applied to patients in whom there is evidence of bronchial and/or tracheal inflammation, excess mucus production, with Aspergillus as the only pathogen and without invasion of bronchial mucosa on biopsy (Denning 1995), but full criteria for this diagnosis have not been validated. Aspergillus infection of the large airways has several manifestations. Many authors try to propose a classification to describe the disease, but to date; there is still no ideal classification. Overlapping clinical features can make cases difficult to classify. Interestingly Young et al. described a non-invasive form of infection, with the bronchial mucosa is usually preserved, but this contrasts with many reported invasive cases in patients with immunosuppression and poor immunological host responses (Young 1970). more... |