HIV ile Enfekte Hastalarda Pneumocystis Jirovecii Pnömonisi: Tek Merkez Deneyimi

Abstract

Objective: Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is still a critical opportunistic infection in patients diagnosed with the human immunodeficiency (HIV) infection in the advanced stages and patients who do not adhere to antiretroviral therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and diagnostic features of PCP infections developed in HIV-infected patients.Methods: HIV-infected patients aged 18 years and older, followed between January 2005 and March 2020 at the university hospital, were retrospectively reviewed from medical records. Results: Within the study's scope, 397 HIV-infected patients, 62 (15.6%) females and 335 (84.4%) males, with a mean age of 39.2 ± 11.6 years, were evaluated. While age was not a risk factor for developing PCP, the male gender was a risk factor. Patients with PCP had significantly lower CD4 lymphocytes counts than patients without PCP, and a CD4 lymphocyte count <200/mm3 significantly increased the disease's risk. The patients' most common systemic complaint was fever at the time of presentation, and the most common respiratory complaint was cough. The immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test was positive in 57.1% of the patients. All patients had appearances that might be supportive for PCP in chest tomography.Conclusion: HIV infected male patients with advanced immunodeficiency constituted a high-risk group for developing PCP. In the presence of typical clinical findings, the evaluation of chest tomography and microbiological diagnostic tests together were found to be useful for accurate clinical diagnosis.