[Aspergillus infections of the lung]

In this article the three different manifestations of pulmonary aspergillosis are compared with each other: bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, aspergilloma and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, and their different clinical and radiological manifestations. In particular, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis--being a severe complication in immunosuppressed patients whose defenses are weak--often presents diagnostic problems due to its initially mostly unspecific clinical and radiological signs. The late signs of a pulmonary aspergillus infection, such as formation of a cavern or the manifestation of the "air crescent" sign, however, are seen only when the patient is just beginning to convalesce.