What is a fungal ball in the kidney?

What is a fungal ball in the kidney?

Fungal balls in the pelvis of kidney, also known as fungal accretions or bezoars are known to cause urinary tract obstruction. The diagnosis is often established by presence of fungi in urine culture and identification of obstructive uropathy via imaging studies such as ultrasound, intravenous pyelography and CT scan.

Can ultrasound detect fungal infection?

However, ultrasound imaging has been demonstrated to be a good indicator for general pathology such as inflammation or infection and can aide in the diagnosis or suspicion of fungal infection as a pre-emptive screening measure.

Is a UTI a fungal infection?

The typical UTI is caused by a bacterial infection of the urinary tract, but it is also possible to develop an overgrowth of certain types of fungi. Known as a yeast infection, this type of infection is especially common among women.

Can fungus cause breathing problems?

Breathing in tiny bits of fungus (called spores) irritates the lungs and can cause something called allergic alveolitis: a bit like asthma. It can make you breathless and give you a cough that just won’t go away. Some people who live in damp, mouldy accommodation can develop this.

What causes a fungal ball?

Fungus Ball—This is caused by fungus getting caught in one of the sinuses, forming clumps of material that often contain bacteria as well. This is most often in the maxillary, or cheek, sinus, and usually occurs in patients whose immune system is working fine.

How is a fungal kidney infection treated?

Management options for renal fungal ball include intravenous antifungal agents and percutaneous nephrostomy with antifungal instillation of antifungal agents. The objective of this case report was to document treatment success with the use of fluconazole instillation through a nephrostomy tube.

Does Candida show on a CT scan?

Both CT and ultrasonography (US) have proved useful in confirming hepatosplenic candidiasis, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is also emerging as a powerful tool. CT and MR imaging can demonstrate lesions in approximately 90% of patients, whereas US reveals lesions in 70%–75% of patients.

Can CT scan show fungal infection?

The results of CT combined with the basic condition of the patients can be used to initially diagnose pulmonary fungal infections, which is of high diagnostic value and can improve clinical treatment.

What are the symptoms of fungal infection in urinary tract?

Symptoms

Yeast infection symptoms UTI symptoms
pain when urinating or having sex pain or burning sensation when urinating
burning, itching, and swelling of the vagina and vulva frequent urge to urinate
thick, white vaginal discharge that has no odor pain or tenderness of the lower abdomen, back, or sides

Why is there yeast in my urine?

Yeasts can be detected in urine that is contaminated during collection, in patients who have bladder colonization, and in patients who have upper urinary tract infection that developed either from retrograde spread from the bladder or hematogenous spread from a distant source.

When to see a fungal ball in the urinary tract?

Fungal balls are generally seen in the presence of at least one of the following 2-5: Fungal balls of the urinary tract are usually diagnosed in the context of a symptomatic urinary tract infection or urosepsis, and are not symptomatic themselves unless they cause obstruction 2-7.

How are fungal balls similar to fluoroscopy 5?

CT urography (e.g. CT intravenous pyelogram) reveals filling defects, similar to fluoroscopy 5,7. Morphological findings are identical to those seen on CT 5,9. Signal characteristics of fungal balls have been rarely described, but include 3,5,8,9: Similar to other modalities, MR urography reveals filling defects 5.

What kind of imaging is used for fungal infections?

In this article, we describe the clinical features, natural history, and imaging findings of infections caused by invasive fungi and fungus-like organisms, with an emphasis on computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging assessment performed by using an organ-based approach.

What kind of pain does a fungal ball cause?

If obstructive, they may contribute to renal colic-type pain, development of or worsening of pyelonephritis, and a post-renal acute kidney injury 2-7. The etiology of fungal balls is not clearly understood, however they are thought to be an agglutination of 2,4: