South American Blastomycosis Treatment & Management

  • Author: Julie E Dixon, MD, FAAD; Chief Editor: Dirk M Elston, MD   more...
 
Updated: Jan 24, 2012
 

Medical Care

  • Systemic antifungal medications are the mainstay of medical management.
  • Supportive measures and hospitalization may be warranted for patients with severe disease. If present, anemia and nutritional deficiencies should be treated.
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Surgical Care

  • Occasionally, specific surgical treatments are warranted for life- or organ-threatening disease, such as neurosurgical procedures to relieve granuloma-induced spinal cord compression or hydrocephalus.
  • Reconstructive surgery is sometimes needed to alleviate fibrotic sequelae.
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Consultations

  • A pulmonologist or internal medicine specialist may be consulted, as warranted by the pulmonary symptoms or internal organ dysfunction.
  • A consultation with an infectious disease specialist may be necessary if the diagnosis is uncertain.
  • Rarely, consultation with a surgeon is needed.
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Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Julie E Dixon, MD, FAAD  Private Practice, Ironwood Dermatology, Tucson, Arizona

Julie E Dixon, MD, FAAD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, and American Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Norman Levine  MD, Private practice, Tucson, AZ

Norman Levine is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Franklin Flowers, MD  Chief, Division of Dermatology, Professor, Department of Medicine and Otolaryngology, Affiliate Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, University of Florida College of Medicine

Franklin Flowers, MD, is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

David F Butler, MD  Professor of Dermatology, Texas A&M University College of Medicine; Chair, Department of Dermatology, Director, Dermatology Residency Training Program, Scott and White Clinic, Northside Clinic

David F Butler, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Association, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, American Society for MOHS Surgery, Association of Military Dermatologists, and Phi Beta Kappa

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Jeffrey J Miller, MD  Associate Professor of Dermatology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine; Staff Dermatologist, Pennsylvania State Milton S Hershey Medical Center

Jeffrey J Miller, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, Association of Professors of Dermatology, North American Hair Research Society, and Society for Investigative Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Catherine M Quirk, MD  Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of Pennsylvania

Catherine M Quirk, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha and American Academy of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Dirk M Elston, MD  Director, Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology, New York

Dirk M Elston, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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Crusted plaques over the central part of the face in a man with South American blastomycosis. Courtesy of Rolando Vasquez, MD, Professor of Dermatology, Guatemala.
Ulcerated nodule on the tongue in a man with South American blastomycosis. Courtesy of Heidi Logemann, Professor of Mycology, Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala.
 
 
 
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