Pneumocystis carinii infection in patients with chronic bronchial disease
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(96)91468-3/fulltext
Pneumocystis carinii infection was identified in patients with chronic bronchial disease, underscoring its potential role as a contributory pathogen beyond classical immunocompromised settings. Clinical and diagnostic observations indicate that P. carinii may exacerbate respiratory decline. These findings suggest the need to reconsider its epidemiological and pathological significance in chronic airway disorders.
Prevalence of P. carinii carriers in the general population was estimated at a hospital in Spain. Simultaneous sputum analysis of 50 patients with chronic bronchial disease by 4 methods (toluidine blue O stain, modified Giemsa stain, methenamine silver stain and immunofluorescence) identified 5 subjects as carriers. Two infected patients had never been treated with corticoids and all subjects denied being at risk for HIV infection. The prevalence in this sample of patients was similar to that in HIV patients recorded at the same hospital during 1989-93. It is concluded that cases of P. carinii pneumonia in immunodepressed patients are due to recurrence in chronic carriers rather than to new infections.
