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Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia.

2007; National Institutes of Health; Volume: 52; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

Andrew M. Luks, Margaret J. Neff,

Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology

Pneumocystis jiroveci, formerly known as Pneumocystis carinii, is now believed to be a fungus. P. jiroveci pneumonia is a fungal infection, the primary symptoms of which include progressive dyspnea, nonproductive cough, and low-grade fever. These patients are often profoundly hypoxemic, and chest radiographs typically show bilateral, diffuse interstitial infiltrates. While P. jiroveci pneumonia is more commonly diagnosed in individuals who have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and a depressed cluster-of-differentiation 4 (CD4 ) count, it can occur in individuals with other forms of immunosuppression. The presentation can depend on the host; non-HIV patients often have a more fulminant presentation. We describe the case of a 52-year-old woman who had no obvious risk factors for HIV or other forms of immunosuppression, and who presented with substantial arterial hypoxemia and bilateral lung infiltrates and was subsequently found to have both HIV infection and P. jiroveci pneumonia. Her case illustrates the importance of considering P. jiroveci pneumonia in any profoundly hypoxemic patient, even if risk factors for HIV or other forms of immunosuppression are not present on initial assessment.