Update and review of blastomycosis

Blastomycosis has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations. When a patient presents with chronic pneumonia, especially coexisting with cutaneous lesions, blastomycosis infection needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis. Erythema nodosum can rarely be associated with pulmonary blastomycosis. A positive culture is the gold standard of diagnosis; occasionally, the organism can be identified by its typical "shoe print" morphology with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stain. The Gen-Probe technique may be required to confirm the uncertain culture results. The preferred treatment for blastomycosis in less severe cases is oral itraconazole, with amphotericin B in disseminated cases.