A Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare Oral Itraconazole Versus Combination of Systemic Glucorticoids and Oral Itraconazole in Chronic Pulmonary and Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis Overlap Syndrome
While ABPA and CPA represent two distinct manifestations of Aspergillus-related lung disease, there is an overlap of investigations that are currently used for the diagnosis of these entities. In a previous study, the authors have demonstrated that 22% of subjects with CPA fulfilled the obligatory criteria for ABPA. While the preferable therapy in patients with ABPA is systemic glucocorticoids, the primary therapy in CPA is oral triazoles. However, a different management protocol in the overlap group with low doses of glucocorticoids and triazoles, needs to be systematically explored. In this study the investigators intend to compare the clinical outcomes in subjects with ABPA-CPA overlap treated either with oral azoles or a combination of systemic glucocorticoids and oral azoles.
• Subjects fulfil criteria for ABPA and CPA as below.
• The criteria for CPA would include the presence of all the following: (i) one or more clinical symptoms (persistent cough, recurrent hemoptysis, weight loss, malaise, fever and dyspnea) for ≥3 months; (ii) slowly progressive or persistent findings (one or more cavities and surrounding fibrosis, infiltrates, consolidation, with or without fungal ball or progressive pleural thickening) on computed tomography (CT) of the thorax; (iii) immunological (A.fumigatus-specific IgG \>27 mgA/L or positive Aspergillus precipitins) or microbiological evidence of Aspergillus infection (growth of Aspergillus in respiratory secretions) and, (iv) exclusion of other pulmonary disorders with similar presentation.
• The diagnosis of ABPA will be made based on the presence of all the following: (a) A.fumigatus specific IgE \>0.35 kUA/L; (b) total IgE ≥500 IU/mL; (c) eosinophil count ≥500 cells/µL); (d) A.fumigatus IgG\>27 mgA/L.