Equine Pulmonary Cryptococcosis: A Comparative Literature Review and Evaluation of Fluconazole Monotherapy

• Published in: Mycopathologia (1975) Vol. 182; no. 3-4; pp. 413 - 423
• Main Authors: Secombe, C. J., Lester, G. D., Krockenberger, M. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.04.2017; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Antifungal Agents - therapeutic use; Antigens; Auscultation; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Comparative analysis; Comparative literature; Cryptococcosis; Cryptococcosis - diagnosis; Cryptococcosis - microbiology; Cryptococcosis - pathology; Cryptococcosis - veterinary; Cryptococcus - isolation & purification; Cryptococcus neoformans; Diagnosis; Eukaryotic Microbiology; Female; Fluconazole; Fluconazole - therapeutic use; Granulomas; Horse Diseases - diagnosis; Horse Diseases - drug therapy; Horse Diseases - pathology; Horses; Life Sciences; Literature reviews; Lung Diseases, Fungal - diagnosis; Lung Diseases, Fungal - drug therapy; Lung Diseases, Fungal - pathology; Lung Diseases, Fungal - veterinary; Male; Medical Microbiology; Medical research; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Plant Sciences; Treatment Outcome; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine; Australia; species complex; Antigen titre; Horse; Cryptococcosis; Pulmonic; Equine; /; Cryptococcus gattii; Cryptococcus neoformans; Cryptococcus gattii/Cryptococcus neoformans species complex
• ISSN: 0301-486X; 1573-0832
• DOI: 10.1007/s11046-016-0065-9

Cryptococcus is the most common fungal respiratory pathogen in Australian horses, manifesting primarily as pulmonary granulomas. Disease severity at presentation is dependent on the athletic use of the horse. The diagnosis and estimation of disease severity are centred around clinical findings, cytological evaluation of respiratory tract secretions, diagnostic imaging, and antigen titre testing. Both the lateral flow assay and the latex cryptococcal antigen titre are used, and important similarities and differences between species are discussed. Cryptococcus gattii occurs with greater frequency than Cryptococcus neoformans in equine pulmonic cryptococcosis and can be successfully treated with enteral fluconazole monotherapy, with disease severity determining treatment length.