A Case of Pulmonary Trichomoniasis in a Young Healthy Male.

La, Sung Soo; Kong, Jae Hwan; Bang, Chang Seok; Hahn, Sung Hwhan; Myong, Na Hye; Kim, Doh Hyung

doi:2008.64.5.387

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 64(5); 2008 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2008;64(5):387-391.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2008.64.5.387 Published online May 1, 2008.

A Case of Pulmonary Trichomoniasis in a Young Healthy Male.

Sung Soo La, Jae Hwan Kong, Chang Seok Bang, Sung Hwhan Hahn, Na Hye Myong, Doh Hyung Kim

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea. kimdh@dankook.ac.kr
²Department of Pathology, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.

Abstract

Bronchopulmonary infections caused by trichomonads have been reported principally in patients with pre-existing pulmonary diseases, such as bronchial carcinoma, lung abscess, or bronchiectasis. Pulmonary trichomoniasis is most often caused by Trichomonas tenax, which is usually regarded as a harmless commensal organism of the human mouth. However, pulmonary infection may rarely be caused by other trichomonas species, including Trichomonas vaginalis from the genitourinary tract and Trichomonas hominis from the intestines. Because of the rarity of trichomonas pulmonary infection, and because of its close association with underlying lung and systemic disease, pulmonary trichomoniasis is considered an opportunistic infection. We recently treated a case of pulmonary trichomoniasis occurring in a young, healthy male without obvious underlying pulmonary or systemic illness. To our knowledge, there has been only one reported case of pulmonary trichomoniasis in Korea, and there have been only two reported cases of pulmonary trichomoniasis occurring in normal lung worldwide.

Key Words: Trichomonas, Lung, Pulmonary trichomoniasis