Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia

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AIDS

Lungs

Pneumocystosis

Pneumocystosis; PCP; Pneumocystis jiroveci

• fever
• cough -- often mild and dry
• shortness of breath -- especially with exertion (activity)
• rapid breathing

• x-ray of the chest may reveal lung abnormalities -- yet up to 10% of individuals with PCP in the setting of AIDS may have a normal chest x-ray
• sputum induction: for special stains to detect Pneumocystis carinii
• bronchoscopy (with lavage) -- if sputum induction is negative
• lung biopsy may rarely be needed if the above studies fail to yield a diagnosis
• blood gases which may show decreased oxygen level in blood and helps in determining whether an individual might benefit from corticosteroids

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.