Pulmonary Allescheriasis: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature

A llescheria boydii is a true fungus, being best known as a common causative agent of Madura foot in North America. 1,2 The fungus is a natural saprophyte that has been frequently isolated from the soil in various areas of the United States. 3-9 Only eight cases of patients with pulmonary involvement have previously been reported in the literature. 10-18 We report here the ninth case with a review of the literature. PATIENT SUMMARY A 59-year-old woman had had a left groin lymph node dissection at Ochsner Foundation Hospital for possible recurrence of a melanoma of the thigh. The original lesion had been removed by local excision 5% years previously. At the time of groin dissection, two of ten nodes were positive for melanoma. Chest roentgenograms at this time showed a nodule in the upper lobe of the right lung (Fig 1). Planigrams disclosed a cystic lesion approximately 2½ cm