ABSTRACT
Introduction: A 62-year-old Indian male with diabetes mellitus presented with atypical, overlap features of Aspergillus hypersensitivity syndrome and obstructing bronchial aspergillosis.
Clinical Picture: He was febrile and tachypnoeic with diffuse crepitations and wheezing. Chest X-ray was normal but eosinophil count was 2900/mm3 and Ig E >10,000 IU/ml. Treatment and Outcome: He responded initially to high dose steroid therapy but deteriorated subsequently from extensive mucus plugging of the bronchial tree which resulted in respiratory failure and death. He was HIV-negative. Conclusion: Culture and histologic examination of bronchoscopically identified tracheobronchial mucus plugs should be performed as early treatment may be life-saving.The spectrum of pulmonary aspergillosis includes saprophytic colonisation, hypersensitivity syndromes and invasive lung disease. There has been a tendency to classify these syndromes as separate entities but clinical overlap occurs.
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