Progressive disseminated histoplasmosis

Large language models and their performance for the diagnosis of histoplasmosis

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Researchers tested whether artificial intelligence chatbots like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot could help doctors diagnose histoplasmosis, a serious fungal infection affecting people with HIV/AIDS that is often missed. They presented 20 real patient case descriptions to different AI systems and found that Microsoft Copilot performed best, correctly identifying histoplasmosis in 90% of cases—about as good as laboratory tests. While the AI showed promise as a helpful tool to suggest this neglected disease during diagnosis, doctors would still need to verify findings with actual tests.

Histoplasma capsulatum as a cause for prolonged pulmonary illness in an immunocompetent returning traveller from Bangladesh

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A 57-year-old man returning from Bangladesh developed a severe lung infection that lasted several weeks and required hospitalization with breathing support. Doctors initially thought he had tuberculosis or bacterial pneumonia, but standard tests came back negative. Advanced fungal testing eventually identified the cause as histoplasmosis, a fungal infection he likely caught while supervising construction work. After treatment with antifungal medications, the patient recovered and was discharged to continue medication at home for a year.

Disease: Progressive disseminated histoplasmosis

Large language models and their performance for the diagnosis of histoplasmosis

Histoplasma capsulatum as a cause for prolonged pulmonary illness in an immunocompetent returning traveller from Bangladesh