Disseminated histoplasmosis diagnosed by percutaneous needle biopsy of a retroperitoneal lymph node. A case report

A case of disseminated histoplasmosis diagnosed by percutaneous needle biopsy cytology is reported. The patient presented with fever and pancytopenia. Computed tomography (CT) revealed retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. Cytology smears prepared from a CT-guided screw needle biopsy of one of the lymph nodes showed numerous histiocytes with intracytoplasmic yeast forms consistent with Histoplasma capsulatum. Fungal cultures prepared from additional needle biopsy material confirmed the diagnosis. This case illustrates the utility of needle biopsy in the evaluation of radiographically detected retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy and in the rapid diagnosis of infectious disease in certain clinical settings.