Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia

[Dorothey Allen]

Pneumocystis jirovecii is a common cause of pneumonia in immunosuppressed patients, especially in those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and in those receiving systemic corticosteroids. Symptoms include fever, dyspnea, and dry cough. Diagnosis requires demonstration of the organism in an induced sputum specimen or bronchoscopic sample. Treatment is with antibiotics, usually trimethoprim /sulfamethoxazole or dapsone /trimethoprim , clindamycin /primaquine , atovaquone , or pentamidine . Patients with Pao2