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Volume 32, Number 3—March 2026
Dispatch
Emerging Endemic Area for Blastomycosis, New York, USA, 2000–2024
Laura E. Ramirez
, Christian Kostowniak, Jessica Kumar, Sudha Chaturvedi, Ananthakrishnan Ramani, and Amit Chopra
, Christian Kostowniak, Jessica Kumar, Sudha Chaturvedi, Ananthakrishnan Ramani, and Amit Chopra
Table 2
Diagnostic evaluation and treatment patterns for patients with isolated and disseminated laboratory-confirmed blastomycosis reported in Albany, New York, USA, 2000–2024*
| Characteristics | Isolated pulmonary | Disseminated | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age + SD, y |
45 + 17 |
40 + 19 |
43 + 18 |
| Sex | n = 24 | n = 28 | n = 52 |
| F | 7 (29) | 4 (14) | 11 (21) |
| M |
17 (71) |
24 (86) |
41 (79) |
| Method of specimen collection | n = 23 | n = 28 | n = 51 |
| Biopsy | 17 (71) | 25 (89) | 42 (82) |
| Bronchioalveolar lavage | 14 (58) | 3 (11) | 17 (32) |
| Sputum | 2 (8) | 1 (4) | 3 (6) |
| Lumbar puncture |
0 |
3 (11) |
3 (6) |
| Methods of establishing diagnosis | n = 22 | n = 28 | n = 50 |
| Real-time PCR | 17 (77) | 22 (79) | 39 (78) |
| Culture | 12 (55) | 17 (61) | 29 (58) |
| Histopathology and cytopathology |
6 (27) |
7 (25) |
13 (26) |
| Computed tomography chest characteristics | n = 24 | n = 12 | n = 36 |
| Mass | 8 (33) | 5 (42) | 13 (36) |
| Lobar consolidation | 9 (38) | 3 (25) | 12 (33) |
| Nodular | 7 (29) | 4 (33) | 11 (31) |
| Pleural effusion | 3 (13) | 3 (25) | 6 (17) |
| Mediastinal lymphadenopathy | 2 (8) | 2 (17) | 4 (11) |
| Cavity | 3 (13) | 0 | 3 (8) |
| Miliary |
1 (4) |
1 (8) |
2 (6) |
| Treatment | n = 19 | n = 21 | n = 40 |
| Itraconazole only | 13 (68) | 11 (53) | 24 (60) |
| Amphotericin B followed by itraconazole | 4 (21) | 6 (29) | 11 (28) |
| Amphotericin B only | 2 (11) | 2 (10) | 4 (10) |
| Fluconazole | 0 | 2 (10) | 2 (5) |
| Voriconazole |
1 (5) |
0 |
1 (3) |
| Length of treatment, n = 31 | n = 15 | n = 16 | n = 31 |
| 6 mo | 7 (47) | 1 (6) | 8 (26) |
| 9 mo | 0 | 1 (6) | 1 (3) |
| 12 mo |
8 (53) |
14 (88) |
22 (71) |
| Death |
1 (2) |
2 (4) |
3 (6) |
| Total | 24 (46) | 28 (54) | 52 |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. Categories are not mutually exclusive, so totals may sum to >100%. Data were not available for all variables for every patient; therefore, denominators vary by category. Percentages are calculated by using the number of patients with available data for each variable.
Page created: February 11, 2026
Page updated: February 26, 2026
Page reviewed: February 26, 2026
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