Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Apr 6, 2020; 8(7): 1295-1300
Published online Apr 6, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i7.1295
Pleural effusion in an immunocompetent host with cryptococcal pneumonia: A case report
Huan-Huan Wu, Yan-Xiao Chen, Shuang-Yan Fang
Huan-Huan Wu, Shuang-Yan Fang, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Dongyang Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Dongyang 322100, Zhejiang Province, China
Yan-Xiao Chen, Department of Evidence-base Medicine, Dongyang Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Dongyang 322100, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Wu HH was the patient’s Physician, reviewed the literature and contributed to manuscript drafting; Chen YX analyzed and interpreted the imaging findings; Fang SY was responsible for the revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content; all authors issued final approval for the version to be submitted.
Informed consent statement: An informed consent statement was obtained from the reported patient.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Huan-Huan Wu, MD, Doctor, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Dongyang Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, No. 60, Wuning West Road, Dongyang 322100, Zhejiang Province, China. huanhuan871002@163.com
Received: December 10, 2019
Peer-review started: December 10, 2019
First decision: October 25, 2019
Revised: March 6, 2020
Accepted: March 27, 2020
Article in press: March 27, 2020
Published online: April 6, 2020
Processing time: 117 Days and 18.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: The most common imaging findings of isolated pulmonary cryptococcosis are single or multiple nodules located in the peripheral lung field. Cavities and pleural effusion are scarce in immunocompetent patients. In this study, we report a case of isolated cryptococcal pneumonia in an immunocompetent patient without underlying diseases, but exhibiting rare radiologic findings of pleural effusion and cavities. Although rare, clinicians should not disregard the possibility of cavities and pleural effusion occurring in immunocompetent hosts without underlying diseases.