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Histoplasmosis - Symptom

Alternative Names

Ohio River Valley fever

Symptoms:

Symptoms depend on the type of infection:

  • Acute asymptomatic pulmonary (lung) histoplasmosis -- no symptoms
  • Acute symptomatic pulmonary histoplasmosis:
  • Chronic pulmonary histoplasmosis:
    • Chest pain
    • Cough, possibly coughing up blood
    • Fever
    • Shortness of breath
    • Sweating
  • Disseminated histoplasmosis:
  • Other histoplasma symptoms:
    • Joint pain
    • Rashes
    • Skin nodules (red lumps called erythema nodosum), most often on the lower legs

Signs and tests:

How histoplasmosis is diagnosed depends on the body parts involved. Tests that may be done include:

  • Skin biopsy
  • Blood, urine, or sputum tests to look for signs of histoplasmosis infection
  • Chest CT scan
  • Chest x-ray
  • Spinal tap to look for signs of infection in cerbrospinal fluid (CSF)
  • Reviewed last on: 9/23/2010
  • David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Kauffman CA. Histoplasmosis. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 353.
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