Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia

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AIDS

Lungs

Pneumocystosis

This is an infection of the lungs caused by the fungus Pneumocystis carinii, now renamed Pneumocystis jiroveci.

Pneumocystosis; PCP; Pneumocystis jiroveci

PCP is a pneumonia caused by the fungal organism Pneumocystis carinii, which is widespread in the environment, and is not a pathogen (does not cause illness) in healthy individuals.

However, in individuals with weakened immune systems due to cancer, HIV/AIDS, solid organ and/or bone marrow transplantation, as well as individuals receiving chronic corticosteroids or other medications that affect the immune system, Pneumocystis carinii may lead to a lung infection.

Individuals with advanced AIDS are of particular interest, since PCP was a relatively rare infection prior to the AIDS epidemic. Before the use of preventive antibiotics for PCP, up to 70% of individuals in the U.S. with advanced AIDS would develop PCP.

PCP in the setting of AIDS usually develops slowly and is less severe -- several weeks of cough, fevers, and progressive shortness of breath, especially with exertion. Individuals with PCP who do not have AIDS usually get sick faster and are more acutely ill.

Review Date: 02/13/2006
Reviewed By: Monica Gandhi, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.