%0 Journal Article
%T Clinical and Demographic Features of Paracoccidioidomycosis in Argentina: A Multicenter Study Analysis of 466 Cases.
%A Giusiano G
%A Tracogna F
%A Santiso G
%A Rojas F
%A Messina F
%A Sosa V
%A Chacón Y
%A Sosa MLÁ
%A Mussin J
%A Cattana ME
%A Vazquez A
%A Formosa P
%A Fernández N
%A Piedrabuena M
%A Valdez R
%A Davalos F
%A Fernández M
%A Acuña A
%A Aguilera A
%A Guelfand L
%A Afeltra J
%A Garcia Effron G
%A Posse G
%A Amigot S
%A Serrano J
%A Sellares O
%A Álvarez C
%A Pineda G
%A Carnovale S
%A Zalazar L
%A Canteros C
%J J Fungi (Basel)
%V 9
%N 4
%D 2023 Apr 17
%M 37108936
%F 5.724
%R 10.3390/jof9040482
%X Information on paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) in Argentina is fragmented and has historically been based on estimates, supported only by a series of a few reported cases. Considering the lack of global information, a national multicentric study in order to carry out a more comprehensive analysis was warranted. We present a data analysis including demographic and clinical aspects of a historical series of 466 cases recorded over 10 years (2012-2021). Patients were aged from 1 to 89 years. The general male: female (M:F) ratio was 9.5:1 with significant variation according to the age group. Interestingly, the age range 21-30 shows an M:F ratio of 2:1. Most of the cases (86%) were registered in northeast Argentina (NEA), showing hyperendemic areas in Chaco province with more than 2 cases per 10,000 inhabitants. The chronic clinical form occurred in 85.6% of cases and the acute/subacute form occurred in 14.4% of cases, but most of these juvenile type cases occurred in northwestern Argentina (NWA). In NEA, the incidence of the chronic form was 90.6%; in NWA, the acute/subacute form exceeded 37%. Diagnosis by microscopy showed 96% positivity but antibody detection displays 17% of false negatives. Tuberculosis was the most frequent comorbidity, but a diverse spectrum of bacterial, fungal, viral, parasitic, and other non-infectious comorbidities was recorded. This national multicenter registry was launched in order to better understand the current status of PCM in Argentina and shows the two endemic zones with a highly diverse epidemiology.