Rheumatologic manifestations of histoplasmosis in the recent Indianapolis epidemic

Abstract

Rheumatologic manifestations were noted in 24 (6.3%) of 381 patients with symptomatic histoplasmosis who were seen during a recent epidemic in Indianapolis. Typically, these patients had rapidly additive, rather than migratory, arthritis or arthralgia, which was symmetric in 50%. Ten patients had oligo- or monarticular disease. Knees, ankles, wrists, and small joints of the hand were the most common sites affected. Eleven patients had erythema nodosum. The rheumatologic manifestations were usually mild and, in all but 2 patients, resolved without treatment or with a brief course of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. The joint disease in patients with erythema nodosum was essentially the same as that seen in patients who did not develop skin lesions. However, those without erythema nodosum more frequently exhibited systemic features, e.g., chills, fever, anemia, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rates. Rheumatologic complaints led 16 of the patients in this series (67%) to seek medical attention, and in 3 patients they constituted the sole presenting complaint.