[Comparative bronchoscopic manifestations in pulmonary mucormycosis and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis].

Pulmonary mucormycosis (PM) and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) are life-threatening, opportunistic infections that are commonly seen in immunocompromised patients. Both are characterized by their tendency to invade the airways. This study retrospectively analyzed 46 PM patients and 41 IPA patients diagnosed at Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital between January 2018 and February 2025, systematically evaluating their bronchoscopic features and proposing the morphological concepts of "mucormycelium", "aspermycelium", and "bronchial pulmonary cavity fistula". The results showed that mucormycelium was more frequently observed bronchoscopically than aspermycelium. PM patients more commonly presented with bronchial pulmonary cavity fistula, granulation tissue, lumen stenosis, lumen obstruction, and purulent secretions, whereas fungal spots were more frequently identified in IPA patients. No significant differences were found between PM and IPA in terms of bronchial mucosal congestion and airway bleeding. These findings suggest that bronchoscopic features are valuable for differentiating between PM and IPA.