The different manifestations of pulmonary aspergillosis: Multidetector computed tomography findings.

[allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis]

Pulmonary aspergillosis is a fungal infection usually caused by inhaling Aspergillus fumigatus spores . However , when we talk about aspergillosis , we normally refer to the spectrum of clinical and radiological findings that depend directly on the patient 's immune status , on the prior existence of lung disease , and on the virulence of the infective organism . There are four types of pulmonary aspergillosis (aspergilloma , allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis , chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis , and invasive aspergillosis ), and each type has its own distinct radiologic findings . We review the signs of pulmonary aspergillosis on multidetector computed tomography and we correlate them with patients ' symptoms and immune responses . Likewise , we discuss the differential diagnoses .