Unusual Histoplasma capsulatum infection

What it means

An increased susceptibility to Histoplasma capsulatum infections as manifested by a recurrent or severe/invasive infection with Histoplasma capsulatum, or occurring in an unusual anatomical location.

Most patients exhibit pulmonary signs and symptoms, accompanied by radiographic abnormalities, which often are mistaken for community-acquired pneumonia caused by bacterial or viral agents. Most of the infected individuals remain asymptomatic or have very mild illness that does not get diagnosed as histoplasmosis. Significant symptoms develop in less than 1% of patients and most frequently present as pulmonary or disseminated histoplasmosis. Immunocompromised individuals, including patients with AIDS, hematologic malignancies, transplant recipients, and patients receiving prolonged steroids, are at higher risk of developing acute disseminated disease with a rapid and aggressive course.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this2

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Histoplasmosis · Unusual histoplasmosis · Unusual progressive disseminated histoplasmosis · Unusual susceptibility to Histoplasma capsulatum