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Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis- Diagnostic Challenge

Ritu Singhal

 Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis (CPA) is pulmonary disease estimated to affect 3 million people world-wide making it an under-recognized, but significant health problem world-wide, which however confers significant morbidity and mortality. The disease is caused by Aspergillus species, which can reach respiratory tract by air-borne transmission. Any form of lung injury or illness is predisposing factor for development of CPA, among which most common cause is pulmonary tuberculosis. Such pulmonary injury affects local host defenses enabling Aspergillus conidia to germinate within lung. It is crucial to diagnose CPA timely and appropriately to ensure relevant treatment considering similarity of CPA to many other diseases.

Diagnosis of CPA is based on well-established diagnostic criteria , which requires thoracic imaging , direct microbiological evidence of Aspergillus infection or an immune response to Aspergillus spp .  New laboratory diagnostics have been developed specifically for diagnosing CPA, which need to be evaluated specifically for CPA and utilized for diagnosis.