Adult esophageal candidiasis: a radiographic spectrum

With the increasing use of cancer chemotherapy and organ transplantation requiring immunosuppressive therapy, and with the incidence of immunodeficiency states such as AIDS increasing, it is to be expected that candida esophagitis will occur with increasing frequency. Though fiberoptic endoscopy is a more specific and more sensitive approach to the diagnosis of candida esophagitis than barium esophagography, it is also more invasive, and many patients will continue to be examined radiologically, at least initially. The radiologist continues, therefore, to play a significant role in suggesting the diagnosis and it is incumbent on him to familiarize himself with the spectrum of common and unusual radiographic manifestations of this disease.