HISTOPLASMOSIS

Course overview

HISTOPLASMA CAPSULATUM IS A DIMORPHIC FUNGUS PRESENT WORLDWIDE IN POCKETS OF ENDEMICITY PARTICULARLY ASSOCIATED WITH RIVER VALLEYS. THE ENDEMIC REGIONS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE OHIO AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEYS AS WELL AS SOUTHEASTERN STATES. IT IS A SOIL-BASED FUNGUS, AND WHEN IT IS DISTURBED, THE CONIDIA BECOME AIRBORNE AND CAN BE INHALED. OFTEN THE INFECTIONS ARE ASYMPTOMATIC, BUT A GRANULOMATOUS INFLAMMATION RESULTS IN PULMONARY DISEASE AKIN TO PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS. IN IMMUNOCOMPROMISED PATIENTS, HISTOPLASMOSIS CAN BECOME DISSEMINATED AND LEAD TO CONSIDERABLE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HISTOPLASMOSIS AND THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN MANAGING PATIENTS WITH THE DIAGNOSIS.