A patient who developed Pneumocystis carinii hepatitis and choroiditis despite receiving prophylactic pentamidine therapy by aerosol is described. Liver biopsy showed histology typical of Pneumocystis hepatitis, but his respiratory status was stable and his lungs were free of P carinii organisms on BAL. Thus, inhaled pentamidine prophylaxis did not prevent extrapulmonary pneumocystosis. Patient...

Investigation of the transmission and epidemiology of Pneumocystis species in humans is hampered by several confounding variables imposed by both the organism and the host. The disease, a highly fatal pneumonitis, occurs almost exclusively in the severely immunocompromised host, who is also at high risk for other oppor-tunistic infections of the lungs, with and without Pneumocystis jiroveci (al...

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) remains a major cause of illness and death in HIV-infected persons. Sulfa drugs, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and dapsone are mainstays of PCP treatment and prophylaxis. While prophylaxis has reduced the incidence of PCP, its use has raised concerns about development of resistant organisms. The inability to culture human Pneumocystis, Pneumocystis jirovec...

UNLABELLED Pneumocystis species are fungal parasites of mammal lungs showing host specificity. Pneumocystis jirovecii colonizes humans and causes severe pneumonia in immunosuppressed individuals. In the absence of in vitro cultures, the life cycle of these fungi remains poorly known. Sexual reproduction probably occurs, but the system of this process and the mating type (MAT) genes involved are...

References 1. Monnet X, Vidal-Petiot E, Osman D, Hamzaoui O, Durrbach A, Goujard C, Miceli C, Bourée P, Richard C: Critical care management and outcome of severe Pneumocystis pneumonia in patients with and without HIV infection. Crit Care 2008, 12: R28. Correction Correction: Critical care management and outcome of severe Pneumocystis pneumonia in patients with and without HIV infection Xavier ...

A 32 year old man with chronic severe asthma, requiring maintenance oral corticosteroids, was started on a weekly dose of methotrexate. Eleven weeks later he developed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. In the two years following treatment there has been no recurrence while oral corticosteroid treatment has been continued. Pneumocystis pneumonia should be considered in asthmatic patients taking me...

We report a case of HSV type 2 pneumonia in an HIV infected patient. The patient was empirically treated for severe Pneumocystis jiroveci community acquired pneumonia. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage was done, the cytology of which was negative for Pneumocystis jiroveci. All cultures were negative. HSV type 2 was isolated from BAL on culture. The patient died of pulmonary embolism. The...