Analysis of pulmonary fungal infections in the elderly patients

摘要

The incidence of pulmonary fungal infections in elderly patients increased significantly in recent years. Most of the patients had received prior treatment with antibiotics, corticosteroids or immunosuppressing durugs becuase of various primary underlying diseases such as malignant tumor, serious infections diseases, and so on. The functional state for host immune system is closely related to the development of fungal pneumonia in the aged. Early dagnosis of pulmonary fungal infections in elderly is very difficulty, befause the characteristic change were not be found in the clinical manifestatioons, the roentgenograph features in the lungs and laboratory examination. This paper 38 cases of pulmonary fungal infections in senile patients confirmed by autopsy were studied within a period of 20 years (1977-1997).