Coccidioidomycosis Masquerading as Malignancy: A Case of Mediastinal Mass and Pericardial Effusion in an Immunocompetent Jamaican Male

Coccidioidomycosis rarely presents as a lung mass, hypereosinophilia, and disseminated pericarditis with pericardial effusion. Even rarer is a case that presents with the constellation of all these findings. We present a case of coccidioidomycosis in an immunocompetent young Jamaican male with all these features, set against an interesting epidemiological context of a likely exposure to coccidioidomycosis spores during an on-foot crossing of the Mexican border into Texas. His treatment course was complicated by declining liver and kidney function due to triazole antifungal therapy, necessitating titration of these doses to tolerable levels. This case highlights the importance of a detailed travel history in unraveling infectious disease diagnoses and underscores the need for high clinical suspicion for coccidioidomycosis, even in patients outside of known endemic regions.