Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Abatacept

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by synovial membrane inflammation and joint cartilage destruction. Abatacept is a biologic agent that blocks the costimulation signals, preventing antigen presentation and proliferation of T lymphocytes. It is approved for the treatment of patients with RA. Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is an infectious disease complicating several immunosuppressive drugs. PJP associated with abatacept has not been reported yet in the medical literature. Various factors, such as the mechanism of action of abatacept, may contribute to predisposing to  Pneumocystis jirovecii infection. In this paper, we report a patient with RA who developed PJP under abatacept treatment.